Adventures in Mobius
by Shelby the Hedgehog
Summary: I get kidnapped and end up on Mobius. Lost with no way home, I soon discover that this Mobius isn't quite what I first thought but I soon learn Sonic and I have a LOT in common, more then we first thought. Better then it sounds. Self-insert
1. Just Another Night

Disclaimer: Okay, I'll make this quick: I don't own anyone other then myself. **Chapter one: Just Another Night**

I yawned and stretched myself. I cast my gaze to the clock on the computer one last time before turning it off.

"Midnight." I yawned. "I'm staying up WAY too late."

I looked up to the window snow was plastered to. I just let out a groan. It was early winter and a bunch of snowstorms had trapped me in my house. I wouldn't even risk trying to dig my way out the snow was so deep and cold. My parents were away at Las Vegas when the storms hit. My little brother was up the street at one of his friend's house when the first storm hit and none of us wanted to take the risk of even trying to get him back home it was so cold and since my house was near the bottom of a hill and his friend's house was near the top of the hill, he could freeze in all of that snow. I was alone in the house but the electricity and water were still running but how I had no clue.

"I better get some sleep." I grumbled as I turned off the computer.

RING!

The phone was, once again, ringing.

"Hello?" I asked in, a groggy voice.

"Hi Shelby!"

It was Mom.

"Mom, it's midnight. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, CALLING ME AT 12:00 IN THE MORNING?" I asked.

"Oh sorry dear. Are we five hours ahead or behind you?"

"Nineteen hours behind." I groaned, far too groggy to get it right.

"Right just calling to check up on you. Oh, and we think we might have found us a flight home."

"Very nice, Mom, can you tell me about it in fourteen hours?"

"I'll call again in the morning. Good night."

"Good night." I said and hung up the phone.

I turned my attention to the TV. I jumped over the back of couch and on the TV and went through the channels. Nothing good was ever on at night.

"Might as well watch a video." I grumbled.

I pressed play on the VCR, knowing what video was already in.

"Get on thing straight, 'Twan: don't ever mess with my sneaks again." I mouthed as Sonic said it.

Ever since I was seven I had loved Sonic the Hedgehog and everything about him. I sighed as I thought about the friends he also lost through out the series. When the video finally ended I noticed my backpack on the floor. I made a quick grab for it and went through what was in it.

My Sonic plushies, my favorite Sonic the Hedgehog comic books, my sonic DVDs my Gameboy Advance SP and DS, my favorite books, allergy pills, my portable CD player, some CDs, my iPod and some clothes for a sleepover I was supposed to go to before the snowstorms hit.

My eyes slowly turned back to the TV in front of me. I pulled out my largest Sonic doll and pulled the blanket on the couch over my body. I picked up the remote and turned off the VCR and TV. I cuddled my Sonic doll and slowly dozed off. I didn't even want to bother changing into my PJs since it would only make me cold.

BANG!

"WHOA!"

I fell off the couch on onto the hard floor below me.

"Ow." I mumbled, rubbing my cheek and chin where I had landed. "Stupid wooden deck."

Whenever it was cold, the deck and the sad excuse of a balcony, which where both made of wood, would make loud banging noises, and with how cold it was now, it was extremely loud.

"You think this was 'The Day After Tomorrow' from all of this." I said, referring to the movie.

BANG!

"There it goes again." I mumbled. "Dad should find a new material for those things."

BANG!

"Oh forget it!" I almost yelled.

BANG!

"I'll never get to sleep at this rate." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

BANG!

"OKAY, I GET THE MESSAGE!" I snapped at it. I knew I was probably going nuts there was no way that the deck could talk back to me but it sure helped me feel better and it helped me blow off some steam.

I let out a quick sigh and climbed back onto the couch, hoping to at least TRY and get back to sleep.

CLANK!

I shot up from where I had been laying. That was NOT the deck or the balcony, they were made entirely of wood, this was the sound of metal, metal hitting concrete by the sound of it.

"What was that?" I whispered.

I know better then to go looking for trouble but I've learned that if you don't go looking for trouble, trouble will find YOU and I had this weird feeling that it was going to be like that this time and I was curious.

I slowly slid on my sneakers, incase there was anything broken on the floor. I got on all fours and slowly crawled behind a wall, beyond it, the basement went on by several yards, with plenty of stuff to hide under and behind.

I pinned myself against the wall behind the furnace, although the area was small, I could easily fit in it. I peeked out through the other side, there was something glowing back there, and all that was back there was a bunch of old stuff that my parents had stored there years ago, some of the stuff I didn't even know a thing about, the washing machine and dryer, a pool table that was about as old as me, maybe even older, an old rocking chair, about a dozen suitcases, but other then that, nothing interesting at all. I squinted my eyes a little in hopes of getting a better look, not much help but what I did see something glowing blue on the back wall.

"PRIORITY ONE HUMAN: LOCATED!"

I practically jumped out of my skin at the voice. I jumped out to the other side of the boiler and saw my attackers!

"SWATBOTS?!" I cried. "B…But those aren't real…are they?"

I didn't really care at the moment. I just wanted to get away. I slowly backed away from the HUGE robots before me. I pinned my back to the front of the pool table and carefully reached in.

"Yo, bot brains! Have a ball!" I yelled and hurdled the balls at them. The balls were heavy and hard, so they did some damage. I then grabbed a pool stick and started using it like a bo staff. At one point, I pushed it through the chest of one of the SWATbots. At another point, I used the pool stick like a baseball bat and knocked a head clean off!

I didn't have time to ravish in my victory because even more SWATbots started charging and I was out of balls. Genius came to my mind. I ran behind my father's work out machine and changed the weight and placed the stake in the fourth one. I grabbed a lift and pulled down hard.

"Come and get me!" I called.

One of them charged but tripped on the mat that my father kept in front of the machine for when he did sit ups. When its head was under them, I let the weights drop. Over twenty pounds of metal fell right on top of it!

CRUNCH!

"That was NOT pretty!" I happily said.

But the bots charged again. This time, I grabbed some smaller weights, two twenty pounds and two ten pounds, then I attached a bungee cord that my father kept nearby on one part of the machine and the other end to a wire and placed one of the weights in it. I pulled back and launched it! It impaled one of the SWATbots head on. I launched another this time it hit the bot through the chest. I put one that weighed ten pounds and launched it, causing the head to come right off! I was down to my last one and it weighed twenty pounds. I was out of green plastic ten, pound weights and down to one metal twenty, pound weight. I'd have to use it wise. One of the robots was coming closer. I didn't have time to think of anything else, I launched the last weight taking its head right off its shoulders!

"Hey, I'll play with you some other time!" I called and headed back into the lounge area.

I ran to the stereo system and quickly turned it on! I put it on CD three and I directed the stereos to the robots and turned it up to full blast! The music blasted from the stereos and I covered my ears as the song 'This Love' by Maroon 5 began to play.

The song had always reminded me of Shadow the Hedgehog but mostly the first line.

"I was so high I did not recognize the fire burning in her eyes, the chaos that controlled my mind." I hummed quietly.

I could see that the SWATbots couldn't stand the loud music. They were shorting out and breaking down in front of me. But it was so loud that I had to turn it off for the sake of my ears! Once it was off, I looked at the destroyed robots before me.

"Man, what are these things?" I asked, picking up a piece of one. "I mean, they do LOOK like SWATbots but they aren't real, well, not in this universe anyway."

I knew more about the universe then I let on. I knew that there were other dimensions and universes and that the worlds of Sonic the Hedgehog were only some of the many dimensions. Some may say that they weren't real but boy were they ever wrong! I knew that there were more dimensions and that meant that Sonic and his friends were real! I also knew that each world was a cross rode for other worlds. I figured that people came up with stories, and things like them such as TV shows because they had connections to that universe. I had many connections through my counter parts there, I figured that was how people came up with stories that they put themselves in. I also knew that stories that they didn't put themselves in that they had other connections. I also knew that there was a chance that Earth could be the planet Sonic and his friends lived on, only the world Sonic and his friends live on was WAY into the future, that was why the mobians there and the animals here had the same names.

I smiled going over these facts, for all I knew I could be the extremely great grandmother of Sonic the Hedgehog or maybe Tails, or Princess Sally, being Knuckles' wouldn't be so bad but I was so much like them all that it was hard to tell and on top of that, how would I know what series it may end up being? I could be the extremely great grand mother of the planet's rulers, the Royal Hedgehog Family from Sonic Underground. Extremely great grandmother of a certain blue hedgehog who had a bit of a mean streak and had no control over his super form, namely Sonic from the series Sonic the Comic, I was a bit like that one. I'd gladly be the extremely great grandmother of any of the characters but being the extremely great grandmother of a certain fat overlord was a nightmare.

"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!"

I gasped and turned my head. There were more and one of them raised their arm. I guess I thought it was going to shoot a laser at me so I ran. Instead of a laser, a net flew out. I tried to run faster when I saw the net but it was faster then I thought. It covered my body and trapped me.

"What's going on here?" I managed to ask.

The next thing I knew, a brown bag was thrown over me. I began thrashing about, trying to escape.

"C'mon you cowards, fight me like a real man!" I said.

The SWATbots didn't listen to me and stuffed me into a brown bag.

"What are we gonna do with her?" A voice asked. It wasn't robotic.

"Take her to the doctor and have some tests done on her, she's not normal. She managed to take out all of these SWATbots on her own." A smarter voice said.

I could see his shadow cast over the sack, I was in a direct path with it. I smiled evilly and started swinging the bag closer and closer until it hit him and I managed to grab something, it wasn't the target but I still applied pressure. It felt like a…tail?

"I'll make it stop if you let me go!" I yelled. I knew I was pretty much asking for death but it was worth a good shot.

"You gonna let me go?" I demanded.

"NO!" He cried.

"Alright it's your loss." I said. If I couldn't deal with him, I'd scare him into letting me go.

"WHAT?!" He asked. "You wouldn't!"

"Wanna bet?" I asked and squeezed tighter.

"NO!"

"Alright." I said and squeezed.

"NEVER!"

"You're loss." I said again and squeezed.

"You've got one last chance!" I told him. "You don't let me go and you're probably going to be in SO much pain!" If that didn't scare him nothing would.

"ALRIGHT! JUST LET GO!" He yelled.

I released his body and I slowly swung back and forth.

"Now let me go!" I demanded.

"Ha! Do you think I'm going to let you go now that I'm free?" He asked but I could easily hear the pain in his voice. I swung the bag and kicked him where I had been holding him. He cried out in pain and I smirked in victory.

"You know, once I'm out of here, you're never going to be able to feel between your legs again, the both of you." I told them.

"You say that now, but once the doctor gets his hands on you, you're going to be so sorry." The first one said.

"If you let me out of here, I'll take you both on!" I snapped.

"HEY! WHAT ABOUT ME!" A third voice said.

"I'LL TAKE ON ALL THREE OF YOU!" I snapped.

That wasn't going to happen. I thrashed as much as I possibly could, trying to escape. I didn't take well to being held still or against my will for that matter.

"If you don't let me out of here right now, I'm going to get very, very, very rough with you!" I warned.

"Not like you already are." The third voice said.

"Want me to make it worse?" I asked. "Where are you taking me anyways?"

"We're taking you in under order of Dr. Eggman." The first voice said and something in my mind clicked.

"Wait, if you're taking me to the doctor, which is impossible, then that makes you three some of his followers! Who are you?" I snapped.

"You're not quite as stupid as you seem, huh?" The first voice asked. "We're Fang, Bean, and Bark, girly."

"What you call me?" I yelled.

"You heard me, kid. Now shut up!" Fang said, hitting the sack.

"Come on! I'll take you all on!" I challenged.

"You think she can really do that, Fang?" Bean asked.

"Of course not, you fool. She isn't that strong." Fang said.

"Then how'd I tear those SWATbots apart so easily?" I asked. "I could probably take you all on!"

"I'd like to see you try." Fang said.

"You want me to squeeze you again?" I threatened.

"Oh, no thank you." He said, slowly backing off.

I thrashed as much as I possibly could, I wasn't going without a fight! There was a strange glowing near the front of the sack. I put all of my energy into getting my head out of the sack and looking out. I saw a sort of swirling vortex, it was an aqua green, aqua blue color and there was something about it I didn't like.

"Get back in there!" Bark said and pushed my head back into the sack.

I kept on thrashing about, not giving an inch. The light from the vortex seemed to be getting more intense and I knew we were headed for it. Soon the light was all around us that meant we were inside. I began to feel a little…strange, to say the least. In almost an instant, it was almost totally dark. A blast of terrible smells met me head on. I was used to pollution, Lorain had some of that and most of it came from the steal mills. But I still hated it. We had arrived. 


	2. Robotnik

**Chapter two: Robotnik**

This pollution was thicker then pea soup, thicker then two bricks, and that was saying something in my case 'cause I could break through two inches of solid wood with great ease. I was also one of the highest four ranking in my martial arts class, I had been taking lessons since it first opened so the four students had been going there for nearly six years straight, myself included.

"You know, I may still have mercy if you let me out now." I said.

"Quiet!" Fang snapped.

They were moving again, but I didn't thrash, I figured I'd need that energy for were I was going. Soon I could hear another set of footsteps. Another shadow cast over the sack, one with a very long nose that seemed VERY familiar.

"You've brought the girl we require?" An even more familiar voice said.

"Of course." The bounty hunter said.

"Didn't you take group of SWATbots with you?" He asked, and I figured it was Snivley.

"Yes." Fang said. "But, they were uh…all destroyed."

"Destroyed?! How in the world were they destroyed?" Sinvley demanded and seeing my chance, I cut in.

"'Cause I beat them!" I snapped.

"How could a mere girl destroy a complex robot, let alone a whole group?" He asked.

"And, might I add, caused "Fang" a LOT of pain." I said, rubbing it in.

"Is that so?" He asked.

"You know so, Needle Nose!" I snapped. "And I can take you on too!"

I could very easily take on the little shrimp, or as Dulcy called him, Shrimp Boat. I'd taken home the gold in my first martial arts competition, so I was very good.

"I'd like to see you try." The shrimp said.

"C'mon! I'll take you on with only my left side, and I'm RIGHT HANDED!" I yelled.

"Shut up!" He snapped and kicked the sack, only to not even harm me but hurt his toes.

"Listen, shrimp boat, I can turn you inside out if I wanted to!" I said.

"I'd suggest you pay her heed, she real has quite a grip…for a…child." Fang said.

"I'm not a kid! I'm a teenager!" I snapped.

"Who cares?" Fang asked.

I thrashed about again and kicked him.

"Take her to the doctor at once!" Snivley ordered.

"With pleasure." Bean said.

"This coming from the guy who tried to blow Sonic to bits on his birthday but was beaten when Fiona charmed him with keys?" I snapped.

"How did you know about that?" Bean demanded.

"Why should I tell you?" I snapped again.

He hit the sack but this time it hurt. I guess he got Bark to do that one. They were moving again and I remained quiet. Partly from annoyance and I was curious.

"What does egg belly want with me, anyway?" I asked.

"The good doctor wants some answers from you." Fang said.

"I'm not on any drugs you know." I said to annoy him.

"Oh, funny."

"You know Nack, once I'm out of here, you're gonna pay. Oh! Surprised that I know you're real name?" I said.

"Trust me, pulling my tail in between my legs was painful enough." He said. "And another thing, shut the heck up!"

"So that's what I grabbed." I said, laying back.

"Yes, and I must say, you have quite a strong grip…for a girl." He said. "But are you going to shut up any time soon?"

"Taking that as a complement and no." I said.

The sack was suddenly dumped upside down and I was sent rolling out.

"Ouch." I whispered as I rubbed the spot I had landed on my head.

"We have brought the girl, as you requested." I heard Nack say because I had my eyes closed while I rubbed my sore spot.

"Very good, dismissed." A familiar voice said.

"But sir-"

"DIMISSED!" The voice snapped, cutting Snively off.

I could hear a bunch of scrambling feet trying to get away.

'Cowards.' I thought.

A moment of silence formed between me, and my captor.

"Welcome to Robotropolise."

The HUGE chair in the center of the room slowly turned and revealed the doctor!

"Eggman." I whispered.

He smirked at me it was so sickening. For a second, I thought that I was going to be sent to the robotizer. But almost as soon as I thought this, his look changed from a smirk to extreme anger.

"SNIVELY!"

"WHOA!" I cried. His roar was so loud that it had shaken the whole base. I hadn't seen anything like that since he saw the picture of Sonic when he came back from outer space after a year and everyone thought he was dead. The small overlander came right back in at once.

"You called?" He asked.

"YOU DIDN'T BRING ME THE GIRL I ASKED FOR!" Eggman yelled.

"B-but I had it set on the right house and I used a DNA tracker."

"THEN WHY IS THERE A HEDGEHOG WHERE THE GIRL SHOULD BE?!" Eggman pointed at me while yelling.

I raised my eyebrow at 'hedgehog'. Snively looked at me and gasped.

"Oh, I feared this would happen." He said.

"What are you TALKING ABOUT?" Eggman roared again.

"Well, it was the first time I used it on something that was alive so I didn't know what would happen. I feared that she might transform into something else and it appears it happened. She seems to have transformed into a hedgehog." He said.

I looked at both of them like they were crazy. I just looked over my shoulder and down my back just to be safe. Sure enough, a short blue tail was sticking out! I looked at my hands. White gloves covered them. I felt the back of my head, there were three short yet sharp spines implanted to my head.

"Whoa." I said in a voice so quiet that I even almost missed it.

"It appears that she is now also realizing that she's now a hedgehog." Needle Nose said.

"Very good, dismissed." Eggman said and his short little nephew ran out of the room. "Now, my dear, I have a few questions for you."

"I'm afraid you're gonna need hedge clippers to get rid of those whiskers." I said, pointing to his trademark mustache.

Eggman growled and then picked up my backpack, one of those goons must have grabbed it while I was in the sack. Eggman reached in and pulled something out. My Sonic plushie!

"You have no right to touch that!" I quickly snapped but he seemed to ignore my warning.

"Could you tell me, who this is?" He asked.

Had I heard him right? He wanted to know who THAT was! I smirked boy was this going to make him mad!

"Who is THAT? You wanna know who that is huh? What you see is what you get! Just a guy that loves adventure! He's the coolest, nicest, bluest, and FASTEST thing alive! He's my idol and number one hero! THAT Ro'BUTTt'nik is the one and only SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" I said loud and proud.

"SILENCE!"

The base was beginning to shake again. Eggman swung his arm and held me nearly five feet above the ground.

"You will show me the proper respect that I deserve." He hissed.

"Oh, but I AM!" I said.

I knew I was probably digging my own grave but I didn't want to let him get to me. Eggman just growled at me and it sent a shiver up my spine but I wouldn't let it show. After a minute, he dropped me and I landed on my feet, must have caught him by surprise because he looked back at me.

"SHADOW! Take our 'guest' to her 'room'. She needs to be rested for tomorrow's 'games'." He growled.

A door opened and in walked the black and red hedgehog I knew all too well.

"Shadow." I whispered so quietly that even my sharp ears nearly missed it.

The ebony hedgehog stopped a few feet away from me. He then looked at me with those blood stained ruby red eyes. He gave me a death glare. Snively and Eggman didn't scare me nearly as much as, that look in his eyes. It was an, 'I'll kill you' look. Shadow's look made me get up. He turned and started leading me away from the chamber. As we walked, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. When I turned to get a better look, it was gone. I didn't know why I was following him, maybe it was that look in his eyes, his dark past, my pity for him, whatever it was, I didn't know. What I did know was as much about his past as he should have.

"Why are you working for him?" I asked quietly.

He remained quiet.

"The doctor is more trouble then he's worth, you've got better things to do instead of helping him out." I said. If I could get him on my side, I might have been able to get out alive AND in one piece.

Shadow just remained quiet and I sighed quietly. I finally realized it was pointless Shadow wasn't talking. I looked back to where I had spotted the object.

'This should be interesting." I whispered.

---

Sonic the Hedgehog looked at the footage again, he was just as confused as those around him. None of them had ever seen this young hedgehog before yet she seemed to know about him.

"Are you sure you've never met her before?" Sally asked.

"As sure as I possibly can be." Sonic said.

Sir Charles and Rotor had found the footage while spying on Eggman. They hacked into the files and all they found out about the girl was that she was from a place called 'Earth' and a machine called a Dimensional Displacer had to do with her being there.

"Nicole, look up any place called 'Earth'." Sally told her hand held computer.

"Searching…" Nicole replied. "No such place found."

"But that's impossible!" Sally said. "It says Place of origin: Earth."

"I've already looked it up, nothing came up." Sir Charles said.

"Then what is Earth?" Rotor asked.

"Maybe it's a secret place that our computers don't know about." Tails said.

"Maybe." Sally said.

"Or it could be like Angel Island and be a floating island somewhere that's hidden in the clouds." Knuckles shrugged.

"Possibly." Jullie-Su said.

"Or it could be a flying hideout!" Charmy said.

"That's a little scary." Saffron said.

"Or maybe it's an underground base." Bunnie suggested.

"Zat would be interesting." Antione said.

"What do you think we should do Aunt Sally?" Tails asked.

"I'm not sure, Tails." She said.

Sonic pressed rewind on the VCR and watched everything unfold once again.

"I'm afraid you're gonna need to use hedge clippers to get rid of those whiskers." She said, pointing to the fat man, making Sonic smirk. "He's my idol and number one hero! THAT RO'BUTT'NIK is SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!"

"What should we do?" Bunnie asked.

"I say we go for it."

The others turned to Sonic in surprise.

"She may be in danger." He continued.

"But Sonic, it may be a trap." Sally pointed out.

"Yeah, but you saw how she was, I think that she may really be in danger." He said.

Sally looked at him in sadness. Ever since they're had broken up some time ago, she had been having mixed feelings about their friendship. Maybe Sonic was right and this girl really WAS in danger but she sure didn't act like she was or even scared. Sally pondered these thoughts for a moment.

"I guess we'll find out if it's a trap or not soon enough." She said, looking Sonic right in the eyes. 


	3. Escape

**Chapter three: Escape**

I charged the wall again. Nothing happened. I charged again. Still nothing. I growled extremely deeply. I started punching the wall and when my arms began to get too tired I started kicking instead. I had managed to make several dents in the wall but the soft metal just wouldn't break. I then started charging the bars but not much difference. I then charged the wall again but nothing. I just gave it one last kick, turned on my heel and fell with my back against the wall. So many thoughts tore into my mind all at once.

"It isn't working." I told myself.

"Of course not." A weak voice said.

"Huh? Who's that?" I asked.

"Here, in the cell next to yours." He said weakly.

I walked over to the dented wall.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "You sound real sick."

"I am. The doctor has been trying to make clones of me, for the ultimate army of death. He's been running into trouble and he's been punishing me if something goes wrong." He said.

"Why you?" I asked. "He's got Shadow." The voice sounded familiar.

"I AM Shadow the Hedgehog." He said weakly. "The on you saw was probably one of the Shadow Androids the doctor made."

"What? Why don't you try to escape?" I asked.

"I did try, a year ago, when I was first imprisoned, I ended up with a broken arm and two broken legs." He said sadly. "He's broken my spirit. It's hopeless."

"Don't give up! I won't." I told him. "I'll get you out of here Shadow, I promise."

"Don't bother, if I can't get out of here, then who can? It's hopeless." Shadow asked.

I struggled not to cry but I couldn't help it, he was making me feel so sad. I had been pressured at school, so I was used to getting a little teary but it rarely happened now that I was older and tougher, I could take quite a few hits and not back down but I wasn't as mentally strong, I was rather weak there at times. I had been broken in a way years before but I was now building up a wall of confidence the size of the Great Wall of China but there were points that were just too weak. I seamed to get upset over the stupidest of things but when at school, I wouldn't let it show. I hated going there all together because I was put under at least three tons of stress on my shoulders alone in a single day and that was on a GOOD day, it felt like I was getting smothered.

"I'll be alright, Sonic will come for me." I told myself. "Wait…he doesn't even know I'm here, heck he doesn't even know I exist."

I knew how the story goes: a girl gets in trouble and the handsome hero comes to her rescue. After a minute of thinking it over I decided to make like the song says: "I'm gonna set me free!" I said.

"Shadow, I promise you, once I get out and get some help, I'll come back for you, I promise." I told him.

I looked up to the ceiling and saw a pipe running to the window. I jumped as high as I could and grabbed on. I pulled myself up until my head was as high as it could go. I strained my eyes a little and looked out. I calculated how far away the robots were from each other, how strong they seemed to be, and which move would be the best against them. I released the pipe and landed on my feet. I crouched down, placed my finger in the dirt, drew out my plan, and a few back up plans in case something went wrong.

After a while, I figured that I'd give Butt'nik a bad case of annoyance. How you ask? Simple. I sang.

"He's the fastest thing alive! He;s the fastest thing alive! He's the fastest thing alive!" I sang.

"Would you shut up already?" The doctor roared.

"No." I simply said. "Oh, so this is what it feels like to annoy someone. No wonder the guys in my class do this to me all the time."

Eggman gave me a dirty look and turned back to the cell next to me. I couldn't help but wonder what was so important about that single cell or more importantly, what was in it. I sort of had my doubts about it being Shadow after all he was WAY too strong for the doctor. It HAD to be something else in that cell. All I had heard was a bunch of moaning coming from the doctor 'cause something wasn't going right. He had placed a desk in front of it so he could watch whatever it was that was in there up close.

He looked at me sharply. I was leaning on the wall, my elbow supporting me. Normally I was NOTHING like this but in this case I decided to show my 'rougher' side.

"Well, it's time to take you to the arena to get ready for the games." He growled.

'Perfect.' I thought.

Eggman opened the cell and took me out. He held my wrists so I wouldn't get away, then he grabbed some rope and tied me up. I had already guessed he might try that so I flexed all of my muscles, as far they would go, this escape plan HAD to go without a hitch. The doctor was walking me like a dog, my muscles still flexed.

After a while, we reached another set of hallways. After a while, I saw the exit! We were passing right by it! This just made my escape plan whole LOT easier. I relaxed my muscles and the ropes slipped right off!

"WHAT!" Eggman roared.

I turned as fast as I could, jumped up, and kicked him away from me. I landed on my feet again and made a mad dash for the exit.

"SEAL THE EXIT!" The doctor roared and the doors started closing.

I then saw a pipe, steam was leaking out of it. The doors were closing and I saw that there were many doors in the hallway that led to freedom. I then saw another pipe overhead and it led straight outside. This was too good to be true but I decided to take that chance. I grabbed the pipe leaking steam, and pulled it out of place. Steam poured from it like heck and I put the second part of the plan into action. After a while, the steam was turned off and once it cleared, I could see that Eggman was confused as to where I was. Nack and the others had arrived, looking at the door.

"She must be behind it." Nack said.

"Very good, I'll be at the control room, bring her to me when you catch her." Eggman said.

"There's no escape now!" Bean said.

They entered the code into the computer near the door, opening the door and to their surprise it was empty.

"She must be behind one of the others." Snivley said and opened the next door.

They opened that door and it was empty as well. They continued down the long isle of doors, not finding me. I was actually right behind them the whole time. I had jumped up and grabbed onto the pipe over me, now I was hanging from it, slowly scooting after them, if this didn't work, nothing would. Finally, we reached the last door.

"You don't think she might have been caught in it when it was closing, do you?" Fang asked.

"I hope not otherwise my uncle will have our heads!" Snively said opening the door.

It opened and I waited.

"There's nothing here." Fang said, seeing the sides of the door.

I let go of the pipe and landed on my feet. Before they realized what had happened, I grabbed Bark by the hand, jumped in front of him, and threw him over my shoulder. I then kicked Fang in the gut, causing him to sink to his knees. I then gave Bean a good punch to the face and he held it, saying something a long the lines of breaking his beak. I then gave Snivley a good chop to the back of the neck, paralyzing him.

"Hey, I'll play with you some other time!" I said as I ran out the door.

The SWATbots were already waiting. The first one came head on. I punched it as hard as I possibly could knocking, the head off. Another tried to come from behind. I stood on one foot, looked back, and kicked. It's left leg came off, sending it to the ground. Another came from one side and another from the other side. I simply ducked and their heads met each other head on and they fell over.

"Too easy." I laughed.

Another SWATbot came running at me head on, I did a simple 'open the door' move and side stepped it. It ran straight into a wall. I just laughed.

"Well I've had my fun. Now to get out of here." I said to myself and ran from the building and the whole time, Nack, Snivley, Bean, and Bark had been watching.

"What kind of kid did we take?" Snivley asked. 


	4. Lost in the City

**Chapter four: Lost in the City**

I slowed to a stop. I had been running for nearly a mile without taking a break and surprisingly, I wasn't as winded as I normally got nor did I have that cramp that showed it's ugly head whenever I ran or walked distances. I sat on the ground and gave my starving lungs a chance to relax and having air filter through them. The pollution gave the air a terrible taste but it was air all the same.

"What do I do now?" I asked myself. "I could have at least searched the place for any Freedom Fighter prisoners and get their help. Well it's too late for that now."

Then another thought came to my mind.

"If Egg Belly is here, as well as Needle Nose, the ultimate life form, then that means, …" I gasped! "Which way is the Great Forest?"

I looked around, trying to figure it out. Who knew where the sun rose and set with clouds of pollution covering the sky, if I knew that, I could tell north and south.

My mind was taken away from at a crumbling sound. I looked behind me and gasped! The building I had pinned myself against was coming down! There wasn't enough time to run so I crouched down and covered my head and the back of my neck with my arms. I braced myself as the building caved in. I slammed my eyes shut and waited for it to end. Once it finally did, I looked up to see that a, group of SWATbots were on the other side. THEY were the ones who brought the building down! I was about to try and run when I found I couldn't move my foot! I looked down and saw that it was trapped under a piece of roof.

"OH FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!" I snapped and started pulling my leg.

The large robots advanced towards me and I struggled more to free my foot. I could see that with each step they became a yard closer! I started counting.

Ten yards…

I kept on pulling.

Nine yards…

"Come on, come on."

Eight yards…

Seven yards…

Six yards…

Five yards…

Four yards…

Three yards…

I kept pulling, if I didn't break free, who knows what would happen?

Two yards…

"They're almost on top of me!"

One yard!

"HELP!"

---

Sonic had been running through Robotropilse, trying to find the girl and quite frankly, it wasn't going so well.

"Oh come on, how hard can it be to find one girl?" Sonic asked, himself.

CRASH!

He turned around to see a building come down.

"I hope she wasn't there." He said to himself.

He slowly walked closer to the sight, wondering what he'd find.

"HELP!"

"That's my cue." He said and charged.

---

I was clawing at the ground where my foot was trapped. The SWATbots were just three feet away from me it was next to hopeless. I could feel tears building up in my eyes. One of them reached for me. I did the only thing that came to my mind.

"SONIC!"

Something blue charged the SWATbot and sent it flying. I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked up to see…

"Sonic." I whispered in awe. To me, at the moment, he was the greatest champion ever he even seemed to have a sort glow coming from his body. I couldn't smile, I couldn't frown I couldn't move my mouth at all. All I could do was let it hang.

Sonic walked up to me, got down on one knee and looked me straight in the eye.

"You alright?" He asked in a whisper.

I couldn't answer, it felt like there was something caught in my throat tears were building up in my eyes but I did manage to nod my head.

"That's good." He said. "Now let's go."

"I…I can't." I managed to get out.

"Why not?" He asked.

I just looked down to my trapped foot.

"Don't worry, I'll get that off your foot." Sonic said. He dug his hands under the cement and slowly lifted it up. I slowly slid my foot out and Sonic let it drop when my foot was well out of the way. "You alright?" Sonic asked.

"I…I think so." I said quietly.

"That's good." He said. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Thank you, for helping me." I said in a shy voice.

"No problem. So you know me, who are you?" He said.

"I'm Shelby Workman." I said, placing one hand over my loose fist.

"Nice to meet cha, you already know me as Sonic." He said, giving me a, thumbs up.

I nodded and slowly got up, or tried to. The second that my foot that had been hurt touched the ground I yelped in pain.

"Whoa, you better not use that foot." Sonic said. "Here, I'll take you to Knothole myself."

The next thing I knew, I was scooped up into Sonic's arms, making my blush brightly. I had NEVER been carried like that before. I place my hands over my chest in loose fists. He could somehow tell I was a little nervous and pulled me closer to his chest. It helped me relax the clam beat of his heart was so soothing it had something pure to it. I slowly blinked and my breathing became shallow. Not before long I had drifted off into a deep sleep.

---

Sonic looked down, smiling at the girl curled up tightly in his arms. She seemed to have gone through a lot that night, so he figured that she deserved a nice rest. He held her closer to him for extra warmth she seemed so peaceful sleeping like that. He smiled and turned in the direction of Knothole. He revved up his feet as quietly as he could and took off, so not to disturb her.

"Sally's not going to like this." He told himself. 


	5. The Freedom Fighters

**Chapter five: The Freedom Fighters**

"Oh the poor dear." Rosie said at the sight of the young hedgehog girl. "She's completely worn out."

"Is she gonna be alright?" Bunnie asked.

"I believe so, she just needs a few good hours of rest." The elderly chipmunk said.

"She's got a name you know." Sonic said.

"And that would be?" Sally asked.

"Shelby Workman." He answered.

"Interesting name." Rotor said.

"Indeed." Sally said.

"Just place her on that bed over there, Sonic." Rosie told the young hero and did as he was told.

"The poor thing, she's complete worn out." Bunnie said, placing her robotic hand on the hedgehog's forehead.

She suddenly started making strange noises and twitching a little funny.

"What's going on?" Bunnie asked.

"Nicole, monitor dream frequencies." Sally said.

"Generating frequencies sensitive hologram." The small computer replied

A hologram showed the young hedgehog, being cornered by a group of worker-bots. She slowly backed up until her back hit the wall.

"Bummer majories!" She snapped.

"What does that mean?" Sonic asked.

"I'm not sure." Sally said.

They looked back at the hologram. They then saw two hedgehogs with Sonic, a pink one and a green one and they both looked like Sonic. The pink one had a laser gun that looked like a keyboard, the green one had a drum set that seemed to cause earthquakes, and Sonic had a laser gun in the shape of a guitar with a body in the shape of his head.

"GO SONIC! GO SONIA! GO MAINC!" She cheered.

The three continued fighting off the robots but there was a sudden flash of light and when it died down, they were in a robotizer room, the three hedgehogs in the tubes and a purple adult female hedgehog that looked a LOT like a queen.

"NO!" She cried.

"Shelby! Run!"

She then turned and saw an adult female hedgehog, an adult male hedgehog, and a young hedgehog that looked a lot like Shadow only he had green were Shadow had red and he had a small x shaped scar n his forehead.

"Mom? Dad? Matt?" She asked.

"SHELBY! RUN!" Both adults told her.

Eggman's cruel laugh could be heard echoing through out the room and she saw him throw the switch, activating the machine. She watched in horror as the laser hit the seven hedgehogs.

"NO!" She cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "MOM! DAD! MATTHEW!"

The three hedgehogs were suddenly turned into robots.

"NO!"

She then turned to the other robotizer and saw that the, family of four hedgehogs were also being turned into robots!

"NO!"

Eggman's cackling figure appeared from the shadows. He then grabbed her and placed her in one of the tubes.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" She demanded, slamming her fists against the glass.

The machine was activated.

"That's enough Nicole." Sally said.

The image vanished leaving the group deadly quiet.

"Man, that's one monster dream." Sonic said.

"Seriously." Rotor agreed.

"I wonder if she knows about Sonic, could she possibly know about the rest of us?" Amy asked.

"That's a very good possibility." Sally said.

"Well we're bound to find out if that nightmare of hers keeps up." Sonic said.

"Wait a minute Sonic." Sally said. "Look."

The girl had stopped twitching and making noises.

"Nicole." Sally asked.

Nicole brought up the hologram again and this time it showed white hedgehog and a purple cat, several robot hedgehogs were inside tubes and the girl was with them.

"Are you sure that this will work, Silver?" She asked the white hedgehog.

"I'm pretty sure, but this is dangerous. We ARE bringing the power of the Sol Emeralds and the Chaos Emeralds together." He said.

"I'm still against this whole thing." The purple cat said.

"But Blaze, think of all the lives we're saving." She told her.

"I guess but without the Sol Emeralds-"

"We know we know, you're world will be in MAJOR trouble. But if don't try this Robotnik could turn everyone on your world into his robotic slaves!" She said.

"Whatever happened to fake Chaos Emeralds?" The one called Blaze asked.

"Easy princess." Silver joked.

"Oh, funny." Blaze sneered.

"Knock it off you two." She said. "You can flirt with each other once this is done."

"WE'RE NOT FLIRTING!" They both snapped.

"Sure you're not but let's stay focused. If this works, we'll have saved the planet!" She said.

"Throw the switch." Silver said.

She pulled down on a lever. The tubes started filling with a rainbow like light.

"Did we put in fourteen or four hundred emeralds into that thing?" Blaze hissed at the bright light.

"Shut up." Shelby said.

When the light died down inside the tubes were the seven hedgehogs.

"MOM! DAD! MATT! SONIC! SONIA! MANIC! QUEEN ALEENA!" She said in joy.

"It worked!" Silver said.

"Well, what do you know?" Blaze said.

The tubes lifted up and the seven hedgehogs stepped out.

"MOM! DAD! MATT!" She cried and jumped into her mother's arms.

"It's okay, Shelby. It's okay." Her mother said.

"That's enough, Nicole." Sally said.

The hologram vanished.

"That's some dream." Rotor said.

"We should let the kid get some sleep, I think she needs it." Sonic said. The others nodded their heads and left the room. 


	6. A Dream Come True

**Chapter six: A Dream Come True**

I tightened my eyes some before opening them. I wasn't feeling too good, I was used to getting sick by now but this felt way bad. I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in a bed. At first I thought everything that had happened was just nothing more than a dream. Boy how I was wrong.

I slowly sat up and looked around. That was when I realized that I didn't recognize the room at all. I held my acing head. It felt like someone was pounding on it with a sludge hammer and at the same time, it felt like my skull was trying to bust out of my head.

"Where's an advil when you need one?" I asked.

I put my upper body back down because sitting up made me feel woozy. I pulled the covers up to my chin and curled up tightly. I wasn't even feeling well enough to go back to sleep. So I just focused on the rising and falling of my chest, a way of trying to relax. After a while I just sighed. I wasn't going to be able to get ANY sleep at this rate.

"You think we should give it back?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard that voice!

"Maybe we should check it, just to make sure." Another voice said.

I then noticed a door and it was opened a crack that was where the voices were coming from. I could see someone holding out my backpack!

"There could be something private in there, you guys." An annoyed female voice said. "Like a diary or something. Maybe a locket of love!"

A diary, never! A locket of love, never, never! Those two things just weren't for me. Recording stories that happened to me wasn't my best talent, 1) because nothing EVER happened to me and 2) I was MUCH better at writing made up stories. And I didn't do boyfriends, nothing but trouble. Besides, I wasn't interested in anyone at my school or anyone for that matter. None of the guys I knew were right for me, and they were usually too young for me, heck most of them weren't even teens yet.

My ear twitched when I heard footsteps headed for the door. I lowered myself back down and pretended to be asleep. The footsteps got closer to the bed I could hear them. Someone then sat on the edge of the bed I was on I could feel the weight shift.

"The poor thing, being out there all alone." Someone with a very sweet voice said.

"And escapin' from Robotnik's prison too, that's impressive! And with her bein' so ill" A female with a southern accent said.

"I know." The other said.

I guess the first one was stroking my head cause that's what someone did. I could feel their hand crossing my head nice and slowly but also gently. I couldn't help but smile, it felt so great.

"Think she'll be wakin' up any time soon?" The girl with a southern accent asked.

"Nicole said that she'll be awake by noon tomorrow." The other said.

I opened one my eyes a slit. I could make out a few rough shapes and colors but that was about it.

"You know, she really does look like Sonic." The one rubbing my head said.

"Yeah, but I doubt she's anything like that Suga-hog." The second girl said.

"You might be right, Bunnie." The one on the bed mumbled.

I had, had about enough I wanted to know who these girls were, and why their voices sounded so familiar. I slowly opened both of my eyes and looked around but I didn't sit up.

"Oh, she's awake!"

The first one I noticed was the one on the bed. I could barely keep myself from jumping up but I managed. It was Princess Sally Acorn! I looked and saw that the other one in the room was Bunnie Rabbot, she was even wearing her new vest and hat.

"The poor thing still looks sick though." Bunnie said, placing her robotic hand on my forehead.

"Are you alright?" Sally asked.

"I think so." I said quietly.

"Are you sure we have the right girl?' Bunnie asked. "Ah mean, the one we saw escaped from Robotnik in less then five minutes."

"Yeah, that was me." I said.

"Well, we bandaged up your foot and you should be fine." Sally said.

"Thank you." I said, bowing my head.

"What a sweetie." Bunnie said, rubbing my head.

"Yes, tell me, did you really escape from that prison all on your own?" Sally asked.

"Well, Robotnik sort of helped, he was leading me through some hallways, we passed by the door, and I made a break for it." I said.

"Yes well, we've got some questions for you." Sally said.

"O…Okay." I said.

Sally and Bunnie looked at each other. I guess they didn't expect me to be so polite. They helped me up and led me into another room. Waiting there were Sonic, Tails, Rotor, Antoine, Knuckles, the Chaotix, Dulcy, and the St. John's and their group. I couldn't help but feel nervous, I never really did well in front of a big crowd other then board breaking ceremonies when I got my next belt in martial arts or when I had to sing at school concerts.

I guess Sonic could tell I was nervous, because he gently took my hand and led me to a chair. I took a seat and everyone's eyes rested on me. I flexed all of my muscles to keep me from shivering, I was really shy when it came to this stuff but I usually hid it. After a minute Sally walked over to a computer monitor and pressed a button.

"Who are you?" She asked.

A video of what happened between me, and Robotnik was played and I didn't realize until then how much courage I was showing even though I was scared.

"My name is Shelby Workman, and from what I can tell I'm from a different dimension from your own. From a planet called Earth." I explained.

"If that's true, then how did you get here from this 'Urf' place?" Sonic asked.

I had to giggle.

"'Earth' Sonic is the name of the planet I live on like you guys live on Mobius, and Eggman kidnapped me, I'm not sure how though. I know that travel between zones can't be performed very well here so I'm not sure, I don't know. It's also possible that my world is this world but in the distant past and I traveled through time, not space." I said.

"Really, then how do you know about Sonic?" Rotor asked.

'Oh boy, here it comes.' I thought.

"Well, on Earth, Sonic's part of this big video game series and he's the main character, and there have been toys, TV shows and comic books based off it."

Before I could continue, those in the room let a big, loud, "SAY WHAT?!" that came from everyone. Well, except Sonic.

"Cool, I'm famous." Sonic grinned.

"Yeah, big time." I said. "There once was a vote to see what game that was going to come out by year's end the people were most exited about on SEGA's website, that's the company that makes the Sonic games, and the game people were most exited about was your next one. But then again it was Shadow the Hedgehog which told what he was really meant to do."

"Seriously?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, it was one huge hit, more then ten-thousand people voted for that one game against nearly twenty other titles." I said.

"Whoa." Sonic said.

"Yeah." I said, nodding my head, I wasn't about to tell them about the favorite character vote.

"How do we know zat she isn't telling lies?" Antione asked.

"What's the matter? Scared I might be working for Egg-belly of Scourge of someone?" I asked him.

"It did come to mind." He said in a low voice.

"Well, I'm not." I said. "And I can prove it too."

"How so?" Sally asked.

"Sonic, you, Tails, Knuckles, Nicole, and Shadow are the only ones who were there when Nicole took you and Shadow into the diary of Professor Gerald to find out what Shadow was meant to do, I can tell you some things that the doctor didn't get the chance to say before you guys had to leave." I said.

"Really?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, I can also tell you what Shadow was created to do and how." I added.

"Well, you get one chance." Sonic said. "With all the dangerous forces out there-"

"You can't afford to take chances. I know." I said.

"Get started." Sonic said. I closed my eyes and began.

"Shadow was first created to help Maria who had NIDS. Gerald hoped to find a cure in him but there were many barriers he had to break. Desperate, he sought out the aid of Black Doom, the alien who leads the Black Arms and will be arriving as soon as they stop fighting the Xorda."

Before I could continue, Sonic interrupted.

"Okay, I've got a question: How did Black Doom help with Shadow's creation?" He asked.

"That's something I think you should hear when Shadow's around, he needs to know too." I said.

"Oh, you're good." Sonic said.

"Thank you, may I continue?" I asked.

"Of course."

"Now, this is the part you must pay close attention to." I began. "This is what the Black Arms plan on doing: they consider what they're going to do is good but it isn't. They plan on using those who inhabit this planet and use them as a sort of fuel source. What that means is that they plan on feeding everyone on this planet to their larva as food."

At this point the Freedom Fighters looked disgusted.

"That's where Shadow comes in." I continued. "He was to use the Eclipse Cannon to destroy their base, the Black Comet, when it came back fifty years later. But since they haven't showed up thanks to this fight on the Ring Planet, there's no telling when they'll arrive."

I had total serious and nothing else in my voice. If I hadn't had, they probably wouldn't have believed me.

"So, what do they look like?" Sonic asked.

"There's no easy answer." I said. "There are a bunch of different ones that come in different sizes. The worst of them all is Black Doom. If you fight him, the odds of you coming out alive are slim. Only Shadow has any chance at all of beating him."

"And how good are his chances?" Sonic asked.

"I'd have to say 50 percent chances of either losing or winning." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Interesting." Sally said.

"So, what do we do with her?" Knuckles asked.

"Well she's got to go SOMEWHERE!" Tails said. "So I figured she could stay with us!"

"How do we know we can trust her?" Knuckles asked.

"What other choice do we have?" Sally asked. "Besides, we could use her to help us overthrow Eggman."

I thought for a second. I had heard from someone that something EXTREMELY bad was going to happen but I didn't believe it would happen. But still as Wave, the Swallow once said, you can never be too careful. I'd keep my eyes and ears open just incase.

"What do you say, Shell?" Sonic asked but when he did, something in my mind 'clicked'.

'That…nickname…where have I heard it before?' I thought.

"Hey, you okay?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah…just thinking." I said.

"So, you want to come with us or not?" Sonic asked.

"Of course." I said happily. I didn't know it at the time but going to that planet would reveal part of, not only my hero's past, but mine as well and let me tell you, it's a story to remember. 


	7. Creature of the Great Forest

**Chapter seven: Creature of the Great Forest**

Sonic took my hand and started leading me to Knothole. I was having the time of it, Sonic could just tell what I was feeling and held my hand when I was nervous. I was actually nervous to follow them to Knothole. I don't know why, but it all seemed more familiar then it should have been and that was what was making me nervous.

"Come on, can we hurry up and get to the Dining Hut? I'm getting hungry!" Tails wined.

"Don't worry little buddy, we'll be there in just few minutes." Sonic said.

I sighed slightly, I was a little shaky and with an injured foot it was a little hard to walk but I did everything to keep myself from being in too much pain. I guess Sonic could see that because after a few minutes, he lifted me up into his arms. I was blushing brightly. I was NOT going to get used to that any time soon. I looked at Sally, who gave both Sonic and me a strange look but I had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that he was carrying me, and their break-up.

My heart had nearly stopped when that happened in the comic books but I knew both sides of the story and I hoped that they wouldn't bring me into it in any way. And if you ask me, it was strange for them to break-up because of how lovey-dovey they used to be sometimes. I wanted to say something but I couldn't get a thing out.

"Shelby," Tails asked, "what's you world like?"

"Well, it's sort of like your world but it's also different at the same time." I began. "It's hard to explain but there are all sorts of places that I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"That's okay." Tails smiled.

"It's finished." I heard Rotor say.

"What's finished?" Sonic asked.

"I've been working on a splint for Shelby's foot, that way she can get around better without having you to carry her." Rotor explained. "Let's see if it works."

Sonic gently placed me on the ground as Rotor started placing the splint around my ankle.

"So, Shelby, can you tell us how you got away from Egg-belly?" Sonic asked.

"Good question." Bunnie said. "Ah mean, it doesn't make sense. How could those ropes just falling off you when you're near the exit, it doesn't make any sense."

"That's easy to explain." I said. "I'm in martial arts and we learned an escape if you're being tied up: you just have to flex all of your muscles and when they're gone, you just relax what you had flexed and the ropes will drop because of the extra room."

"You know, that sounds like it might actually work." Sally said.

"I guess it does." I said shyly.

"Done!" Rotor said. "Let's see how well you can walk."

I slowly got up with Sonic's help. Other then a light acing it worked perfectly.

"Well what do you know? It works." Rotor said.

"Can we go now? I'm hungry!" Tails wined again.

"We're comin', we're comin'!" Sonic said.

I stayed near the back of the group. It was actually a little scary: I was on another planet with my hero and his friends and enemies, but what was getting to me was that the Great Forest was more familiar then it should have been.

My mind stopped wandering when my sight fell on Tails. He was dragging his namesakes on the ground he was so tired. I took pity on him in an instant and picked him up before he collapsed on himself. As I carried Tails, Sonic looked back at me and smiled.

"Finally, we're home!" Dulcy said.

I looked away from Sonic and to the sight ahead of me and gasped. I could see Knothole City, it was more beautiful then I could ever have imagined. It had a welcoming feeling to it. It was like something out of a fairytale. I could see several mobians walking around, coming and going as they pleased. But there was something else to it, something that reminded me of home. Maybe it was because my own hometown was small and had a friendly feeling to it, especially in the spring when the Cherry Blossoms were in bloom.

"Wow." I whispered.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Sonic said.

"Very cool." I agreed, placing Tails down.

"Can we get some dinner now?" Tails wined as he started pulling on my arms. It was clear he was more hungry then tired.

"You all go on ahead, I'll take Shelby to my place to get cleaned up a bit." Amy said.

"You sure?" Sally asked.

"Don't worry, Sally. You all go on ahead and we'll meet you at the Dining Hut." Amy said.

"Okay." Sally said.

"Come on then." Amy said, taking my hand.

I stayed close to Amy, I may have seen in a billion times before but I could never find my way around it in real life.

"There's my place." She said, pointing.

I nearly fell over in my grave because it looked like a hut version of my house even the garden was the same!

"Wow." I whispered.

"What is it?" Amy asked.

"It's just…your hut looks so much like my house." I said.

"Really, now that's a surprise." She laughed. "C'mon,"

I quickly followed Amy through the front door, a little nervous about being on my own. The inside, surprisingly enough, looked more like my grandmother's house. A warm safe little place with a wonderful feeling surging through it, however, my grandmother's house had that feeling probably because of all the angel statues everywhere.

"Nice place." I smiled.

"Thanks, just go on ahead into my bedroom, just let me know when you're done.

I quickly walked into Amy's bedroom, glad that I was allowed some privacy. Amy's bedroom sort of reminded me of my own somehow, but hers was much nicer looking. I took notice upon a full-view mirror, ad decided to see how I now looked.

To my surprise when I looked in, I was staring straight into the eyes of a blue female hedgehog that looked like Sonic in many ways, not a normal teenage girl with brown hair. Just about everything about my body was the same other then my eyes. They were blue since I was now totally blue. My eyes, which I inherited from my mother, changed color with what I was wearing. Since my school uniform had a green shirt, my eyes were usually green when they're supposed to be blue. My eyelashes were also very long now and flapped slightly when I blinked. I was grateful that my clothes had also changed along with me. They had shrunk so they fit perfectly. My long sleeved sky-blue shirt was still its same slightly baggy self, the same for my blue jeans ad my red and white sneakers.

I sighed. It would take me some time to get used to this new look. But either way, I started fixing my fur a little. I smoothed it out, and dusted off some of the dirt that had gotten on me while I was escaping from the base.

After a few minutes, Amy knocked on the door as I was tying my shoes.

"Come in." I said.

Amy walked in with her usual sweet smile.

"You almost done in here?" She asked.

"Yeah, just let me finish tying my shoes." I said, finishing when I said that.

"Let's hurry, they might run out knowing how hungry some of us get." Amy said.

"I'm coming!" I called and followed suit.

Amy led me to the Dining Hut, it was rather large but I didn't really mind.

"Most of us come here because we don't have food at our huts." Amy explained.

I simply nodded my head, understanding.

"You go on ahead and get us some dinner, I'll meet you and the others at the table." She smiled.

"Okay." I said, nodding my head.

I walked quietly through the isles of tables and mobians, but all the while, I could see clear as day that they were watching me. Even as I passed them by, the scooted forwards a little. I didn't really understand why though, I looked just like one of them, but I remembered what was once said in Sonic Underground: "Suspicion is good when you're on the run." Manic's voice echoed in my head.

I guess they were would act that way towards a stranger either way. At least I was a hedgehog now, and not getting the 'overlander welcome' that they might have given me.

That's when I finally spotted Sonic and the others. I quickly walked up to them, glad I didn't have to walk too far. As I got closer, Sonic patted the seat next to him. I could actually feel my cheeks become warm. That was the first time in my life somebody offered me a seat. I quickly sat down next to Sonic, glad that he was too busy chowing down on his chilidogs to notice my red cheeks.

Tails was sitting across from us, eating just as much, just as fast. I couldn't help but giggle at the sight of his face covered with spices and chili he looked so cute. He quickly licked his lips, obviously still hungry. Sally, who was sitting right next to him, started tapping her foot, telling him to stop but Sonic encouraged him to continue. That's when the one thing I hoped wouldn't happen, had happened.

They turned to me for help against the other.

I didn't want part of this at all. As the two stared at me, I looked at Tails with pleading eyes, begging him to help me out.

"What are you guys doing?" I heard Amy's voice ask.

'Trying to play tug-o-war with me.' I thought quickly.

"I'll stop, Aunt Sally." Tails said in a sort of wine.

"That'll do, Tails." She said, looking away from me.

I let out my breath. I hated being in the middle of a fight. Amy placed a plate with pasta on it in front of me. I carefully took my fork and used all of my best manners. I wanted to make a good first impression, especially with Sally. I did NOT want to be in her most hated books. I could tell she was having trouble trusting me, because she wouldn't take her eyes off of me. I sighed slightly in my mind, if I couldn't make good impression with Sally I might end up back in Robotropolis.

I finished my meal quickly, listening to what the others had to say.

"So, I go super sonic speed and the thing crashes right into the bridge I went under!" Sonic laughed.

"Ouch!" Tails laughed, who was finished as well. "Sally, can I go and play now?"

"I don't know, sweetie." She said. "That mountain lion thing is still lurking out there."

"What mountain lion?" I asked.

"There have been a bunch of reports about a mountain lion like creature in Great Forest. Some of them were actually attacked by it." Sonic explained.

"Whoa." I whispered.

"We've got guards everywhere but we just can't seem to find it." Rotor said.

"And none of our traps have worked!" Bunnie added.

I nodded my head. I remembered something I had once heard in History Class. It was about two mane-less male lions that were attacking a railroad camp, which was going across Africa. There may have only been two, but they killed more then 210 people when they were alive. They killed one person every night as their meal, but no matter what the men did to protect themselves the lions never missed a meal, even with a fence that was more then five feet high. Nothing worked. But then, the man in charge of the project, Patterson, managed to shoot and kill one of them. They soon learned how they were able to jump the five feet high fence: they were nine long from head to tail and three and a half feet high! That was a record! Most male lions rarely grow to be more then eight feet long and three feet high, and it took nine men to carry the one Patterson had shot back to camp. The mean celebrated the death of the first lion but there was still one more. The other, Patterson shot and killed about a week later.

I wondered if this mountain lion was anything like those two. And if it was, we were in trouble.

"Don't worry, Sally, if I see it, I'll just fly away." Tails insisted.

"I wouldn't risk it." I said.

"Why not?" Tails asked.

I told them about the two lions and how they killed and even the safety precautions the men took. I could see that they were surprised by all of this.

"But I wouldn't worry." I said. "You're mountain lion hasn't killed anyone yet, and they were the only lions who ever grew to be that big that's been recorded."

"Well, that's some relief." Sally said.

"Please, Aunt Sally?" Tails asked.

"I still don't you should risk it, Tails." I said. "I've read that mountain lions attack fully grown women and children in stead of men because they're smaller targets and easier to take down, you'd be an morsel compared to it."

"I would?" Tails asked, in a scared voice.

"Well, I've never seen a mountain lion up close before but I know they're big." I said.

"How big?"

"I'm not entirely sure but they are dangerous."

"In that case, we'll have to strengthen security around here." Sally said.

I continued to watch them quietly, wondering if there was anything I could do to help them.

"Aunt Sally, can I go back home?" Tails asked after a while.

"I'm not too sure you should go back without somebody there with you." Sally said.

"I could go with him." I said.

Sally looked at me. I guess she was still babying Tails.

"Please, Aunt Sally?" Tails asked, giving him one of the cutest puppy dog pouts I've ever seen.

"Oh fine." She groaned.

"Yay!" Tails cheered.

"But only go home!" Sally said.

"Okay, Aunt Sally." Tails said. "C'mon Shelby!"

Hearing Tails say my name was like trying to understand a saying from another planet entirely for me but I got up and ran after him anyways.

I let Tails run ahead a bit because I wasn't all too sure as to where 'home' was. But as we went, I couldn't help but feel like we were being watched. With the stares I was getting before, I was probably the one being watched, not Tails. But that still didn't stop me from looking over my shoulder constantly. However, Tails slowly came back to my side.

"Shelby, I think we're being watched." He whispered, grabbing hold of my hand.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." I told him. "Listen, which place is closer? Home or the Dining Hut?"

"The Dining Hut." Tails answered.

"Then you run ahead there, I'll meet you there." I told him.

"What about you?" He asked.

"I can handle myself, if there is something watching us, I'll be able to fight it off, and tell the others to get everyone to safety." I told him.

"Okay, Shelby." Tails said in a worried tone and flew away.

I wished I hadn't had to tell such a vicious lie. You see, the truth is, I had never really used my martial arts on anyone other then Robotnik and his followers but those were only more simple moves on easy to beat enemies but this time the enemy had the advantage, I couldn't see them and on top of it all, it was now dark, I could barely see a thing. I gulped, wishing that Sonic were here. That's when I heard an unearthly growl.

"Tails? Is that you?" I asked.

Another growl answered my question.

"Okay guys, now this isn't funny." I said, slowly walking backwards.

Another growl. By this time I was chewing my lower lip. I was really scared now.

"Stop it right now guys, I'm seriously scared." I said, still going backwards.

Finally, I heard it: an unearthly roar. Something jumped down from a near by tree. I could just make out the form of a mountain lion. It stared me down for about ten seconds before it slowly moved in. I puffed out my chest and tried to make myself look bigger then I actually was. Problem was that I was the size of a mobian hedgehog and this thing was the size of a normal earth mountain lion, so in short, I was MUCH smaller then it now! It wasn't, fazed at all by me so I did the next best thing I could think of: I ran.

---

Tails stopped flying when he heard the roar.

"I hope Shelby is alright." I mumbled. "I have to get the others." And he continued flying.

---

"What was that?" Sonic cried when he heard the roar.

"Y-Y-You d-d-don't think it was that mountain lion, d-d-do you?" Ray asked.

"I'm not sure." Sally said.

"Wait, didn't she say that the lions roared and that the roars died down when the lions were about to kill?" Knuckles asked.

"I hope Tails and Shelby are alright." Amy said.

"That makes two of us." Mighty said.

"SONIC! SALLY!"

They saw Tails come tearing into the Dining Hut, looking like he had just seen a ghost.

"Tails, where's Shelby?" Sonic asked.

"We both thought that there was something watching us and she sent me here, she said to get everyone to safety." Tails said.

"And you left her there?" Jullie-Su asked, a little shocked.

"She said she could handle herself." Tails said.

"Well, if she's not here, then where the heck is she?" Bunnie asked.

There was another unearthly roar, followed by a scream. They knew where she was

---

I didn't know as to where I was running and I didn't care. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough, the mountain was chasing me! I ran as fast as I could through Knothole, or what I thought was Knothole. I had been so busy trying to get away that I failed to realize that I had run straight into the Great Forest. I was barely paying attention as to where I was going at all I just kept on running. I was able to pay enough to attention to grab onto branches and let go so they could hit the lion, slowing it down a bit.

I had jumped a log and had made it to a clearing when I heard the mountain lion's roar again. By this time I was so scared I could barely think. Suddenly, the lion pounced! It jumped right over me, turned around sharply and pinned me to the ground with such speed he could have rivaled Sonic. I didn't even realize what was happening until it was too late.

I was terrified. Simply terrified. The mountain lion, for some reason, was completely dark I could just make out a shape and its glowing yellow eyes it might as well have been a panther. I could feel its claws digging into my arms, slowly yet surely, drawing blood. I cried out in pain but the lion didn't care. It was enjoying my pain. I knew that by now most mountain lions would have taken down their prey but this one was taking its time. It let out a roar, sending a jolt to my heart. I knew those in Knothole would have a panic attack if they could hear it. Oh how I wished that I hadn't told them about the mane-less lions. Sonic and the others would know that it had me because they wouldn't be able to find me. Then I wonder if they would even risk trying to come looking for me. If they did, it would probably be too late. They would come in time to see the lion tearing me apart. I let a single tear run down my cheek, I knew it was all over.

Then, it raised its head before launching its open mouth at my face. I closed my eyes and let out a cry. There was a sudden breeze blowing over my head and the lion's claws violently tear away from my arms, making the wounds worse. I heard a thud and a shot. A gunshot! The lion growled and it seemed to be fighting whomever it was that saved me. I didn't dare open my eyes. I was trying to fight the pain in my arms, but mostly, I was too scared t even make a sound, fearing the lion would finish what it started. I then heard a spark and another gunshot, soon followed by several gunshots. Then, silence. I could hear only one thing: panting. The panting of the victor of the fight, I didn't know if it was the lion or the person who saved me. I was too scared to look.

"Hey…it's okay, now. You can open your eyes." A low male's voice said. He sounded close. I assumed he was kneeling beside me. I was still too scared to even open my eyes.

"It's alright, the lion is dead. You're safe now." His voice was gentle and calm, something about it made me trust him. I slowly opened my eyes, and saw a familiar black and red hedgehog.

"Shadow?" I breathed and then closed my eyes again, pain surging through me.

"Shh…you probably don't want to talk after that attack…it looks like you got some pretty nasty cuts." Shadow said, examining my wounds, gently massaging some of them. I opened my eyes. When I did, I saw a gun in the grass, that was when I knew how he stopped the lion.

"But…why did-" More pain, it was unbearable. I had to let out a cry.

"Shh…I'll explain later, right now, it looks like you might need a doctor,"

"SHELBY!"

'That was Tails.' I thought.

"SHELBY, WHERE ARE YOU?"

'Rotor?'

"SHELBY!"

'Sally?'

"KID, C'MON, ANSWER!"

'Knuckles.'

"SHELBY!"

"Sonic!"

I was about to open my mouth to reply but Shadow placed his hand over my mouth and shook his head.

"WE'RE IN THE CLEARING!!" He called. I was stunned. He was helping me. This was something new.

"SHELBY?" Sonic yelled.

"IN THE CLEARING!" The ebony hedgehog yelled again.

"SHELBY!"

That time it sounded close. It was Sonic! The blue hedgehog had found the clearing and immediately ran over, but froze when he saw who was with me.

"Shadow." Sonic breathed.

The others soon arrived. Amy was next to see the hedgehog.

"Shadow, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I should be asking you the same question." He said.

"Shelby was walking me home when that thing spotted us. She sent me back for help but when I got there, there was a roar and we figured out that it had Shelby when she screamed." Tails explained.

"That's not important, what is important is getting Shelby back to Knothole and having her wounds taken care of." Sally said.

"Are you alright?" Hershley asked, kneeling beside me.

I nodded my head as Sonic, Tails, Rotor, Knuckles, and Shadow went to examine the lion.

"Can ya get up?" Bunnie asked, placing her robotic hand on my head.

I didn't know but I could at least try, I didn't like sitting around and waiting. I took a jagged breath and spoke, "I don't know."

"I wouldn't try it, dear."

That's when I saw Rosie. I was glad she was there she was a nurse.

"Usually I wouldn't want to move you but the supplies are back at Knothole, we'll take you there to get taken care of."

"I could run and get them." Sonic offered.

The elderly chipmunk shook her head.

"No, it would be better if we took care of it somewhere she could be more comfortable."

"How do we get here there if she can't even get up?" Amy asked.

"I'll take her."

I snapped my head and looked at Shadow. He was helping me, even after taking me to my cell at Robotnik's base.

'Wait,' I thought 'If were Shadow, then who was in the cell next to me? If it was Shadow, how did he get well so fast?'

I totally puzzled.

"Whoa." Rotor said.

"What is?" Sally asked.

"This lion…it's not really a lion at all…it's a robot built by Dr. Robotnik."

Another jolt was launched at my heart.

"What?" Sally asked.

"He's desperate." I said and the others looked at me. "He wants me to tell me everything and he's willing to go all out to do so."

"The others just looked at me. I knew what I just said sounded very deep but I knew it was true, very word of it.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"Sorry, for what?" Tails asked.

"If it weren't for me, he might have gotten you instead, and try to kill you."

"It's not your fault." Sally said. "Robotnik would have tried to get you to talk but you didn't, that's what's important."

Sally pulled my upper body up right and tried to comfort me but it was pointless.

"Let's get her to Knothole." Rosie said.

The others simply nodded. I shivered in pain as Shadow carefully picked me up. He made sure my arms were comfortable before he even started walking. I had half expected him to pick me up roughly and not be gentle in the least. However, I couldn't help but notice something about him. There was no body heat coming from him, he was freezing cold, like a robot. I remembered what the person in the cell next to me had said, if he was right, was this Shadow a robot? I'd have to keep my eye on him.

I closed my eyes and struggled to holdback my tears, tears of pain and fear, fear for Shadow, but mostly, out of guilt. I knew the lion attacked Knothole because I was there and that put everyone in danger. I had already caused so much trouble for everyone and I hadn't even been there for a single day, someone could have died.

As we got closer to Knothole, Sonic came closer to my head, and ruffled my head. I looked at him in surprise. He just gave me his famous wink and thumbs up.

"You did good today, Shell." Sonic said. "Most people would have run deeper into Knothole but you didn't. If you had gone into town, things could have been a whole lot worse."

I tilt my head to the side. He was right, I did get the thing away from everyone.

"And sending Tails back to us gave us enough time to get everyone to safety." Sonic continued.

I guess I did send Tails in a hurry, so I might have saved a lot of lives, maybe even one of my heroes. I couldn't help but blush. Sonic smiled at me and I just had to smile back.


	8. A Not so Normal Life

**Chapter eight: A Not so Normal Life**

"That's good Shadow, now rest her down, gently, on the bed over here." Rosie said, placing her hand on a bed.

Shadow nodded his head and placed me on the bed. I could almost feel the pain vanish the moment my arms touched the bed.

"You're one tough kid, you know that?" Sonic asked.

"Really, I hadn't noticed." I said with a lot of sarcasm.

"Now there's no time for jokes." Rosie said sternly. "Now I want all of you boys out of here right now! Go on now, shoo! The girls and I have a lot of work to do!"

"C'mon, can't we help, Rosie?" Sonic asked, as Rosie pushed him.

"If you really want to…" She said in a voice so sly that Rouge the Bat would have been jealous. I knew they were gonna get it. "You can explain all of this to his highness and tell him that our 'mountain lion', has been beaten." And she pushed them out.

"Ah Rosie, that was cruel." Bunnie said.

"But funny." Sally said with a laugh.

"What was that for?" Hershley asked.

"To give you young girls some time alone." Rosie said. "Now, let's see those arms."

Rosie removed my shirt revealing I had a white t-shirt on under my blue one.

"What's this fer?" Bunnie asked.

"For when I was practicing my martial arts earlier, I have to wear it under my Gi, everyone in my class has to." I explained.

"What's a Gi?" Sally asked.

"It's the uniform martial artists wear when they're training." I explained.

"Those white robe things they always wear?" Rosie asked, pulling some bandages out of a cabinet.

"Yes, those." I said.

"What color belt are ya, Suga?" Bunnie asked.

"Purple." I said.

"How many do you have left till you reach the black belt?" Hershley asked.

"After purple there's red, then brown, and then black." I informed.

"Mah, oh mah, there's not much left for ya huh?" Bunnie said.

"No, not really." I said shyly.

"What style do you study?" Sally asked.

"Kwambu." I simply answered.

"Kwambu? What in the world…?" Bunnie asked.

"It's a style that dates back thousands of years. I still have a lot to learn before I make it to the final belt." I said.

"Could you show us some?" Jullie-Su asked.

"As long as Antione doesn't ask for any lessons." I said. "Last time I saw him go up against a dummy punching bag, he sent it flying through a window!"

"Are you serious?" Bunnie asked.

"Eh, he's a MAJOR trouble maker in the cartoon he appeared in. In one episode, he sent the dummy flying through a window, had it thrown back at him by Sonic, then he flew through the window, and Sonic threw him out the door! All the while not even getting the name of the style right!" I explained.

"What was he saying?" Bunnie asked.

"It was Kung Fu, not King Fu." I said.

"Oh, why does that not come as that much of a big surprise?" Bunnie asked.

'Careful Bunnie, watch what you say about your future husband.' I joked in my mind.

"Bunnie, how can you say that? He is your husband!" Rosie said, walking over to my bed.

'Too late.' I thought.

"Ah, I was only kidding." Bunnie said.

"Of course you were." Rosie said as she began bandaging my arms. 'That reminds me, have any of you seen Espio? I haven't seen him in a few days now."

"Come to think of it, the last time anyone saw him…was right before the wedding." Sally said.

"How long ago was that?" I asked.

"Just yesterday." Bunnie said.

I was quite surprised. I hadn't expected to land THAT close to the wedding!

"You know Espio, he thinks he can do anything." Jullie-Su said.

By this time I was chewing my lower lip, I had read the issue with the wedding nearly a thousand times, I knew that Espio was in great danger, but as to what, I didn't know, I didn't have any of the issues after that. But what I did know was this: Espio was in danger and I was sure that it had something to do with the Egg-Grape Chamber.

"Okay, that should do it." Rosie said.

I looked at my arms. I had been so deep in my own head that I had failed to notice Rosie finish bandaging my arms.

"Oh!"

I looked at Dulcy after her cry.

"I almost for got." She reached into her pouch and pulled out-

"My backpack!" I cried.

"Yeah, Sonic ran all the way to Robotropolis and back to get it while you were out cold." Dulcy explained.

'He did that…for me?' I thought.

"So, what do ya got in there, anyway?" Bunnie asked, opening it.

They were surprised as to how much stuff was in it.

"What is all this stuff?" Sally asked, moving one of my plushies.

"Just some stuff." I said.

Soon the girls were going through my stuff, mostly cooing at the plushies. As they went, I started reading from one of my favorite books, The Secret Garden. I need something to get my mind off of Espio. It was pretty quiet until…

We need to be free

Like the wind across the desert sand

I looked away from my book at once. That was the CD I had made with the Sonic Underground songs. I looked to see my portable CD player in Hershley the Cat's hands.

We need to be free

Like a nomad roaming mystic lands

"Hershey, what is that?" Sally asked.

"I don't know." She shrugged.

Oh freedom is a golden bird, it must fly

And if someone tried to take that away we will stand and fight

"That's my CD of Sonic Underground." I said.

"Sonic Underground?" Sally asked.

"A TV show staring Sonic." I replied.

"How many are there, exactly?" Dulcy asked.

"I'd have to say about five." I shrugged.

"Five?" Sally asked.

'Yeah, not counting the comics and video game series." I said.

"I'm not even going to ask." Sally said.

We need to be free

Like the wind across the desert sand

We need to be free

When the song ended, Hershley turned off the CD player.

"Where in the world, or yours, did you get it?" Bunnie asked.

"I made it myself." I said. "I recorded the songs onto my computer, and burned them onto a CD." I said.

"Very cool." Dulcy said.

"Yeah." I said, shyly.

"What' that you're reading?' Bunnie asked.

"Oh, just one of my favorite books." I said, carefully picking it up.

"The Secret Garden? Sounds like a hoot!" Bunnie said.

"Yeah, it's really a one of a kind." I said.

"I'd like to hear it." Amy said.

"I'd like to hear it, too!" Dulcy said.

"I'm in." Bunnie said with a giggle.

"As am I."

I thought I was going to jump out of my skin at the voice. It was coming from Sally's boot.

"Nicole, you want to hear this?" Sally asked, pulling the small computer from her boot.

"Yes, Sally, it sounds interesting." Nicole droned.

I didn't know if that was scarier: a computer wanting to hear a story, or being roboticized.

"Looks like we all want to hear this story." Bunnie said.

"Okay, you guys aren't going to leave me out of this." Sally said.

I guess they all expected me to read the book because they crowded around my bed, some sitting on it. I knew that I had to read it, so I picked it up and opened it to the first page.

As I read about Mary Lennox and her time at her uncle's mansion, the other girls kept asking me questions. From things such as "what's India" "why was the dog digging" "what was wrong with the garden" to things such as "why did she ask for some earth" "why couldn't Colon walk" "why were they making magic". By the time I was done reading, they were totally spell bound. It was clear that they had fallen in love with the book.

"Now that's a story that I want a copy of." Bunnie said.

"You're not the only Bunnie, it's so romantic." Amy said with her usual dreamy look.

"That's clear." Sally stated.

"You should talk." Jullie-Su said. "You haven't been with Sonic in quite a while."

"Hey!" Sally said, making the rest of us laugh.

"If you guys liked that, then you'll love some of the other books I have." I said, reaching into my backpack.

They went through the following books:

The Secret Garden

The Kingdom Keepers,

Silverwing,

Sunwing,

Firewing,

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askavan,

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,

Dragon Rider,

Chicken Soup for the Girl's Soul,

Watership Down,

Because of Winn-Dixie,

Holes,

Hoot,

The Outsiders,

and Timber.

They mostly found interest in Timber, which wasn't even finished, and it didn't have a cover or anything. After a few minutes, I finally told them why: I was the one writing Timber. It was my own book series I was working on. It was about a young Husky pup named Timber who actually has Wolf in him but n the book, they're known as The Wild Ones.

They all started reading the books, not taking their eyes off of them once. By that time my shirt was clean of my blood and I had it back on. I let the others read all my books expect the three Silverwing books. It was my favorite book series and I just loved the stories. I had just gotten to the point in Firewing when Shade had found Griffon that I finally looked up.

It might as well have been a Book Club at some sort of school because that was what it looked like. My school didn't have a Book Club, mostly because more then three quarters of the school are boys. Don't get me wrong, I mostly ignore them but these guys weren't your normal teenage boys.

They had ADD and ADHD. My school was for kids with those and I was no exception. I had ADD but if you looked at me you wouldn't know it. I had taken pills that made me behave very well, a little too well. My appetite practically vanished I was as skinny as a stick but probably the worse thing that it did was turn me into a zombie, if not, the closest thing to one. I was extremely thin, never talked to anyone, did as I was told, and I had very little energy. If I wasn't a zombie, I was a robot. Whatever I was, I wasn't close to being alive.

After about four years of this, my parents and doctor became aware of just what was going on and decided to take me off the medication. However, they chose the worse possible time, the point in every teen's life where everything begins to change, AKA puberty.

Things were just turned up side down for me. I was still feeling the pills effects even after being taken off. That's how strong they were. Just as everything started changing, something entered my life: my first video game console. My little brother and I took to it right away. Soon we were getting more and more games. It acted as a sort of therapy for me. I felt free and then, I discovered what it that was wrong with me: I longed for adventure.

Now, years later, I was getting what I had been looking for. My life long dream, finally come true. It was hard to believe that there was once a time when I thought I hated anything with fighting and such, but when I played my first video game, everything was turned around and I believe that game was the reason why I loved Sonic so much, the first game I played was Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

"Yo, Shell!"

Speaking of the daredevil.

I looked up from my book and to the door. Sonic was standing there with one of his cocky grins. He knew something.

"Guess what." Sonic said with a grin.

"What?" I asked.

"I asked my folks if you could stay with us until you got home and guess what they said?" Sonic grinned.

"Yes?" Sally asked.

"Bingo." Sonic said with his grin growing a little. "They said she, can stay there as long as she wants, if that's okay?"

"Staying with my number one hero? Do you really need to ask?" I told him.

"I'll take the as a "yes"." Sonic smiled.

"Oh, why couldn't it be me?" I heard Amy whisper.

I sighed slightly and slowly got up. The girls returned my books, some moaning because they hadn't gotten to finish. Once the last one was put away, I zipped up my backpack, put it on one shoulder, and walked over to Sonic.

The blue hedgehog led me through Knothole, leading me to his home. I wanted to see it for myself, I had before in comics but this was something I just HAD to see. As we went, I noticed that some mobians were looking at Sonic and me.

"Sonic, why does everyone keep staring at me?" I asked.

"Beats me." Sonic shrugged.

I kept close to Sonic for rest of the journey to his house. I didn't wan to get lost at all. Sonic gently slipped his hand into mine again and like before, I blushed. You'd never see the guys in my school do that. They were a bunch of cussing-happy loonies who would hurt anyone who crossed them maybe even kill if they were bad enough. That had nearly happened twice and I was there on those two days.

"There it is, home sweet home."

Sonic's voice brought me back to reality as we approached his house. It was a small hut like every other place in Knothole but for some reason, it just stood out to me.

"C'mon." Sonic said, starting to pick up the pace a little.

I could tell that, for some reason, Sonic was willing to go a little slow for me. I knew that I was probably crazy to think that but I could just see it. When Sonic led me to the front door, he opened it for me and let me walk in first.

'Is it me or is he being a major gentleman?' I thought as I walked through the door.

I took off my shoes and Sonic took my hand again.

"Where are your mom and dad?" I asked.

"Bed probably, it's late as it is." Sonic said. "My mom has the key to the guest room but I don't wanna wake her. You can take my bed, if you want."

"No thank you, I'll take the couch." I said.

"You sure?" Sonic asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." I said shyly.

"Okay." Sonic said, slightly nervous.

I sat on the green couch as Sonic went to get me a blanket. I looked around, seeing the usual things you would in a family room. A TV, some picture, a few nick-knacks, some furniture and such.

"Here you go." Sonic said, holding a blanket under one arm.

I took the blanket and laid down, I was really tired and ready for a good nights sleep.

"If you need anything, my room has my name on it. I'll see you in the morning." Sonic said gently.

"Good night." I replied and Sonic walked off.

When the lights turned off, I sighed. I went over everything that had gone on that day in my head. I had been kidnapped from my home in the dark of the night by SWATbots, taken to another dimension, gotten a new body, made an amazing escape, met my hero and his friends, got attacked by a robot mountain lion, and now I was spending the night in my hero's home.

If this was a dream, I never wanted to wake up from it. I slowly drifted off, until I finally fell asleep.

---

Sonic watched his new friend from his door which he had left open a crack. There was just something about her that made Sonic never want to take his eyes off her.

'Guess I'm going soft.' He thought.

He yawned and climbed into his bed, very tired.

---

"Have you gotten the file?" Eggman asked Snivley.

"Yes sir." The short overllander answered.

"And what did you find?" Eggman asked.

"Well, the being of it wasn't really found as Amherst Town Hall, sir." Snivley said.

"Then where was it?" Eggman growled.

"The Pentagon sir." Snivley said. "Her grandfather was in something called World War II as a flying ace. She apparently picked up on some of his traits when she was born, making her strong. According to her own file, she studies martial arts, is one of the four highest belt rankings in her school, knows how to use weapons, won the gold medal in her first tournament, has an average IQ, is advanced in some of her classes, and, this part I find interesting-"

"What's interesting?" Eggman growled.

"It turns out her ancestor, like your own grandfather, was one of the world's greatest minds of his time. He discovered the cure for a disease that wiped out half of a place called Europe, taught people how not to get sick, and signed something call the Declaration of Independence, which helped form the country she lives in, his name was Rush, Dr. Benjamin Rush." Snivley read from the report.

Eggman was taken aback by this information. This explained quite a bit as to how that girl escaped his clutches. This was not ordinary girl they were going up against.

"However, I have some bad news." Snivley said, pulling at his collar.

"What, do you mean?" Eggman growled.

"It seems that the hedgehog found her not long after her escape." Snivley said. "However, you're plan to send that robot after her has worked but we lost the mountain lion spy-bot in the process."

Eggman sighed heavily. This could take a while to work out.


	9. A Beautiful Dream

**Chapter nine: A Beautiful Dream**

I was in pain. Why, I didn't know. It felt like I was going to throw up I felt so bad. I shivered violently, another cold flash coming on. This had been going on for hours. Why was I here, how did I get here? I shivered as I wrapped my filth-covered blanket, in vain to try and get warm.

As I chewed my lip from the cold, I opened my mouth to speak. But when I did, my voice didn't come out, Shadow's did.

"I hope that girl made it out alright." I said, or did Shadow say it?

I then realized that I didn't want to say anything. Someone was controlling me. I didn't try to fight it, I was far too sick to even try.

"SHADOW!"

I looked up to the bars to see the doctor, and for some reason, I was scared.

"I'm taking you somewhere." The doctor growled.

He opened the door and grabbed me by the wrist.

"Get your things!" Eggman yelled.

I reached down and found Shadow's belongings. I put on his gloves and sneakers in a hurry as I could see the doctor wasn't going to wait around for long.

"Hurry up!" He snapped.

"I'm going as fast as I can." I whimpered.

"Then go faster!"

I put everything on as fast as I could. When I was done, the doctor grabbed my wrist and started dragging me, as to where, I didn't know. After about ten minutes of walking, we entered an elevator but he still wouldn't let go. By this time I understood what was going on: I was now in Shadow's body but he had full control, I was in his MIND! However, it was like we were one mind, it didn't even feel like I was in another body. It was very strange.

When we exited the elevator, I could see a capsule in front of me, the same capsule that Rouge had found Shadow in, in Sonic Heroes. That was when I realized what was happening: I was going to be put into the capsule! I then thought as loudly as I could, hoping Shadow could hear it.

'If you go into that thing, you may never be found!'

'What was that?' I heard Shadow ask in his head.

'You must get out of here!' I thought. 'You go in there and you might have to learn about your past all over again!'

'Who are you?' Shadow thought.

'A friend.' I thought it was the first thing that came to mind. 'Fight the doctor, bite him, kick, punch, do something to get help!'

'I can't, I'm not strong enough.' He thought back.

'Then let me take over.' I thought.

'What?'

'Listen, I don't have time to explain, just relax, and I'll take care of the rest.'

A pause.

'Okay.'

'Good, now just relax.'

Shadow did as he was told and I took over. I felt the health from my own body come flying from out of nowhere. I smirked at what I had in mind.

"Oh, doctor." I said, still having Shadow's voice.

"What is it?" He barked.

"Here's an update: I'm NOT going in that thing!" I snapped.

Before I could give the doctor even a second, I jumped up and kicked him in his over grown belly. He grunted in pain and fell back. Right after the kick, I had taken off in a flash. I ran as fast as I could when I was a human. I may have been fast but I wasn't the fastest in my class. Most, of the guys were faster then me because they played football, not my best event.

However, as I ran, I could feel myself slowly begin to rise into the air. Shadow's sneakers were starting to activate. I struggled to keep myself balanced as I ran. This was like trying to skate but never touching the ground it was a struggle not to trip.

'Shadow, how do you control these things?' I thought to myself.

'It's easy for me.'

I nearly tripped at his voice in my head. I had forgotten that this was HIS body. I had to be careful, one wrong move and we'd BOTH be in pain. I still ran but I took it a little slow. After a few minutes, I had found my way into the air-vents. I panted a little, trying to catch my breath.

'You okay?' Shadow asked.

'Yeah, just a bit winded, I'm not used to running for this long.' I answered.

'I want to thank you, for helping me.'

'Don't thank me just yet, we're not out of the woods yet.'

'What do you mean?'

'I've still got to get you out of here.'

'Maybe I could take over.'

'No, you do that and we'll both be in pain, I could feel as much of that illness that you had back at the cell. It won't help.'

'I've still got to try.'

'…Okay, but if you're still sick, I'm taking over again.'

'Okay.'

I relaxed, trying to let myself return to my mind. It worked. Shadow was still very sick but he was still able to run and fight.

Soon, Shadow was running through the vents at high speed, both climbing and sliding down them at times. After a few minutes we were finally out.

'Now where are we?' I thought.

'I'm not sure.'

Shadow looked around, trying to find our location. But just when he started looking around, a quick pain hit his shoulder, but for some reason, even though it was small, it hurt a lot worse then it should have. Shadow wanted to let out a cry of pain but I held it back. I looked and saw a dart implanted in Shadow's shoulder. I suddenly began to feel very drowsy. It was a tranquilizer dart.

Shadow reached to pull it out but when he did, the effects had already begun. Shadow's body swayed left and right and he finally fell unconscious, taking me with him.

---

Eggman stood over the fallen hedgehog, the dart gun in his hand. How in the world Shadow got that sudden burst of energy was beyond him. Two egg pawns walked up, grabbed Shadow by the arms, and awaited further instructions.

"Take him to the capsule until further notice." Eggman ordered.

The two robots walked off, carrying the hedgehog, leaving Eggman pondering as to how he suddenly got well so fast.

---

I sighed. I was awake but my eyes weren't opened yet, I as awake in my mind I was laid on a couch. I knew all of it had been a dream, a big beautiful dream. I was still at home, asleep on the couch in the basement. It was all a dream. I wasn't kidnapped. I was still at home, alone. Just when I was about to open my eyes, an aroma filled the air.

Pancakes, waffles, eggs, toast, waffles, bacon, and…wait…chilidogs? Who had chilidogs with breakfast? The only guy I knew who had chilidogs with breakfast was…Sonic.

I knew I had to wake up! I squeezed my eyes slightly and opened them. That was when I took in my surroundings. I was in a family room that I didn't recognize at all in the least, completely made out of wood, with a few green couches and a TV. It took me second but I finally recognized it: it was the Hedgehog family's family room.

I sniffed the air again. The smell of breakfast was stronger then before. I followed my nose a little ways to a doorway. I peeked in and saw the kitchen. Sure enough, there was a blue robotic hedgehog sitting at a table, reading a newspaper. At the stove was an adult female hedgehog in a purple dress making breakfast.

'Sonic's mom and dad!' I thought.

Jules, Sonic's father and the robotic hedgehog, looked up from his newspaper, he saw me in an instant.

"Hello, you must be the girl Sonic was telling us about last night." He said.

"Yes…that's me." I said, slightly nervous.

"Come in, won't you join us for breakfast?" Jules asked.

"Yes, and thank you." I said as politely as I could.

I took a seat across from Jules, who went back to his paper. I looked to he stove. Bernadette, Sonic's mother, was flipping a pancake, humming to herself. I looked back down the hall where the bedrooms where. I could hear a nearly silent snoring coming from one of them. Sonic was still fast asleep.

I wasn't too sure about his age because in some series, he was fourteen, my age, fifteen, sixteen, or eighteen. I couldn't tell here.

"Jules, could you wake Sonic up? I'm making his favorite." Bernadette said. "Eggs and chilidogs."

There was a loud shout from Sonic's bedroom.

"EGGS AND CHILIDOGS!"

In a second, a flash of blue going at super speed came from that room and sat in the chair right next to me.

"Good morning, Sonic." Bernadette said.

"Morning Mom, what's for breakfast?" Sonic asked.

I could tell he was being a jokester.

"Eggs and chilidogs, your favorite."

"YES!"

I thought I might go deaf from that one. As Bernadette placed Sonic's plate in front of him, she turned to me.

"So, you're Shelby?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am." I said.

"Well, I'd like to get some rules down, think you can handle it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now, you and Sonic both have a curfew of eleven o'clock PM unless there's an emergency or an important meeting. No smoking or drinking in this house and finally no swearing unless there's an extreme emergency. Think you can handle that?"

"I can, I don't smoke, drink or cuss anyways." I said.

"That'll do just fine." Bernadette said with a smile. "However, if you break these rules, I'll have you doing some dirty chores."

"Such as?" I asked.

"Cleaning Sonic's room for starters."

Just like my home, except you'd have to clean my little brother's room, I'd rather search for landmines then clean that pigpen.

"I resent that!"

I looked to the hedgehog in question. It was clear Sonic wasn't pleased with what his mother just said.

"There's something alive under that bed of yours and I wanna know what!" Bernadette said jokingly.

"C'mon Mom, there's nothing alive under there, a few old socks and such but nothing alive." Sonic said.

"Then why do I see a tentacle coming from YOUR room, Sonic?" I added on.

"What?" Sonic asked, looking.

"Gotcha." I laughed.

Everyone got a good laugh from that one. After a few minutes, Sonic was the first one done.

"Gotta go. Sal said she wanted to talk to me after breakfast." He said and was off in a flash, leaving a gust of wind behind.

'Now I know how Sonia feels.' I thought, fixing my spines.

"That son of mine." Bernadette sighed. "Listen, Shelby, since you're new in town, I figured I'd take you clothes shopping, you'll need more then one pair of clothes for your stay. How about we go shopping after breakfast?"

I nodded. I knew it would take the Brain Trust a few days to get me back home and I couldn't wear the same clothes for very long. I was against shopping for the most part the long part I actually liked about it was looking at the jewelry. I finished my breakfast and went to help Bernadette with the dishes.

"Now, now, there's no need for that." Bernadette said, snatching away the plate in my hands. "You're our guest, don't fuss about it."

I let her do what she wanted, so I waited at the table for her. She finished quickly and grabbed her purse.

"Come on then." She said, waiting by the door.

Bernadette knew Knothole better then I did, so I followed a few steps behind. As we went, the stares continued.

"Bernadette, they're all staring." I said through my teeth.

"Don't worry, it's only because you're new." She said.

I was willing to believe her, she was Sonic's mother after all. Well, one of them anyway. Bernadette was his mothering the Archie comics but Queen Aleena was his mother in Sonic Underground. I wasn't sure about the other series though.

"Something on your mind, dear?" Bernadette asked.

"Just thinking." I said.

"About what?"

"Oh…nothing." I said, looking away.

"Well, there's the store up ahead, come on then."

I looked ahead to see a larger hut and people going in and out the doors.

"This is the shopping center, we'll get you your clothes here." Bernadette said.

"Alright, but only one outfit, I'm not all that fond of taking too long in a stone." I said.

"AH! STOP IT!" A familiar voice cried.

"That was Tails!" I said.

"Oh dear, not again." Bernadette said.

"Don't tell me, he's being bullied." I said.

"I'm afraid so." Bernadette said.

"I'll be right back." I said, running in the direction of Tails' cry.

"Where are you going?" She called.

"To help Tails!" I called back.

I didn't stop running until I finally saw Tails. Sure enough a group of older teenage mobians were holding a small machine out of his reach. I knew Tails had been teased and made fun of before but not this time.

"Hey, leave the kid alone!" I snapped, walking up to them.

"Stay out of the way, girl, we're doing business." One of them, a bear, said.

"Sorry, but I don't like jerks like you picking on those smaller then themselves." I growled.

"You want us to teach you a lesson too?' A panther asked.

"I'd like to see you try." I said.

"Okay then." A hawk said. He seemed to be the leader.

The hawk charged me head on, obviously trying to use his talons. However, I used my brains. Instead of letting him attack me, I timed myself just right until…

"You're dog meat!" The hawk yelled.

That's what he thought. I used one of my most simple moves: a 'sidestep'. The hawk ended up running straight into a wall.

"Next?" I asked.

The bear went next. He grabbed me by the shoulder of my shirt, too simple. I went under his arm and simply slipped free. The bear was too dumbfounded to notice when I tripped him.

"You really wanna try?" I asked the panther.

He charged me extremely fast, a little too fast, for him anyways. Because I simply leaned bent my right knee fairly far, leaving my left leg out, a perfect tripwire. The panther, unable to stop, tripped and was sent head first into the dirt.

"Are you quite done?" I asked.

They glared at me hard.

"Let's get out of here." The hawk growled.

As they walked off I called after them,

"And if you ever come near Tails again, I'll actually put some effort into it!"

"Wow Shelby, that was amazing! You got all three of them down without even taking hands from behind your back!" Tails exclaimed but it was true, I hadn't taken them from behind my back.

"Well, a legend from my world about martial artists says that the best of the best don't even have to use a single move." I said, placing my hand on his head.

"But how's that possible?" Tails asked.

"That means they use their opponents strength against them, they'll grab them by a point in their body and twist or turn it a certain way that it's not suppose to, they use their opponents strength against them." I explained.

"Cool!" Tails said.

"Yeah, now run along." I said, pushing him slightly.

"Okay, Aunt Shelby." Tails said.

My ears nearly jumped off my head at that! Had he just called me 'Aunt Shelby'?

"Tails, what did you just call me?" I asked.

"Aunt Shelby, you DID help me after all." Tails said. "I mean, if it's okay."

"It's okay, sweetie." I said, rubbing his head.

"Okay, see ya 'round!" He said, running off.

As he ran, I couldn't help but smile. My heart felt like it was flying from what Tails called me.

"If saving my lil' bro from bullies is the best you can do, then you've got me convinced."

I turned around to see Sonic, leaning on a wall with his smirk.

"Hey Sonic." I said.

"Hey, really did good there, you didn't even touch them with your hands, that's something to be admired." Sonic said, walking up.

"Sonic, you're gonna make me blush." I said, embarrassed.

"Sorry 'bout that." Sonic said. "You coming to the party tonight?"

"Party? What party?" I asked.

"You mean those games don't tell ya?" Sonic asked.

"Uh, Sonic, this world seems to be more around the comic book series, and those only show the most important stuff." I said shyly.

"Whatever, point is, almost every night we have a sort of party to keep everyone's hopes for freedom high." Sonic said. "So you comin' or what?"

"Of course." I said.

"Cool, starts around six, I'll see ya there." Sonic smiled.

"Okay. Oh man, I left your mom at the store, I'll catch up to you later." I said.

"Only if you can run at super sonic speed can you catch me!" He called after me.

"You know what I mean." I called back.

---

Sonic smiled as he watched her go. She had such a strange spirit.

'Mental note:' He thought. 'Learn more about Shelby.'

---

I sighed heavily as Bernadette was looking at another pink tube top. I had told her I just wanted ONE outfit, but she insisted on getting me five outfits. I wasn't going to stay that long, was I? She was just as stubborn as her son, Sonic. I looked at the clothes she had already put into the grocery cart.

I hadn't even allowed her to put a dress or skirt in it. I wasn't the kind of girl who wears those. The closest thing I allowed to either was a skort, a skirt with shorts under it.

So far inside the cart was a green skort, a green t-shirt with Robotnik's face on it with a slash on it, obviously meaning 'No Eggman allowed'. A sky blue t-shirt wirth a star on it and Sonic's face in the middle, blue jean shorts.

"How about this?" Bernadette asked.

I looked from the t-shirt I was looking at to what Bernadette was holing. It was the most sparkly, pink dress I had ever seen. I was NOT going to wear that!

"Uh no thank you." I said, worried. "Pink isn't my color."

"But you'd look so pretty in it." Bernadette said.

"No, I don't really think I could." I said, taking a step back.

'Who do I look like? Nacy Drew?' I thought.

"Just try it on." Bernadette said.

I sighed. I knew she wasn't going to give up.

"Fine, but just because I'm trying it on doesn't mean we're buying it." I said, walking back to the fitting room.

One quick wardrobe change later, I was standing in front of Bernadette, wearing the dress.

"Oh, you look SO pretty." She said.

"Listen, Bernadette, I don't mean to sound rude or anything but dresses just aren't my thing. Can't we get something, other then a dress?" I asked.

"Of course, I can see you have some tomb boy in you." She said.

"Yeah, a little." I admitted.

I changed back into my clothes, glad to have the dress off of me. Bernadette pulled me back into the girl's department, and looked again.

After that, she was now carrying a silver blue tank top and matching cargo pants. There was also a royal purple t-shirt and sunset purple jeans. I was allowed to pick the last outfit.

I strayed away from Bernadette a ways until I was bored out of my mind. I wasn't into looking at clothes at all. After a few minutes, I thought I might have to have Bernadette when my eyes spotted a t-shirt that I nearly missed.

It was white with royal blue short sleeves and a royal blue heart in the middle. I liked it. I picked out a pair of jeans to go with it. I showed Bernadette the clothes and we went to but buy them.

As we left, my mind ran a stray. It was about that strange dream I had last night. Shadow and me switching places and having control over the same mind, freaky. But then I wondered: what if it was more then a dream?

I cast my gaze to a near by tree. I could see Shadow sitting in it, mumbling something. I cocked an eyebrow, wondering what in the world he could be doing.


	10. Stained Tears

**Chapter ten: Stained Tears**

A few hours had passed since my little shopping journey with Bernadette and I was walking with Sonic. We had a few minutes 'til the party so we were just talking.

"So, they started wrestling on the floor and everyone was cheering!" I told Sonic, who just started laughing.

"Man, I wish I could have seen that." He laughed.

I smiled as Sonic laughed. It always made me happy to see him like this.

"Man, we need more guys like that around here." Sonic said.

"Trust me, you don't." I said.

"What does that mean?" Sonic asked.

"That…was a one time deal." I said. We were going over the guys in my school.

"How so?" Sonic asked.

"These days they're nothing like that! My dad keeps saying that 'they're going to get better this year' every school year, but they don't they actually get worse!" I said. "Why, just last spring a group of guys were busted drinking BEER in front of the school!"

Sonic looked at me shock.

"There's also been graffiti in the restrooms, the gang signs that have been drawn on the windows and in the boys restrooms, and not to mention countless fights! It's unbearable!"

"Whoa, I take that wish back." Sonic said.

"You better, there have been plenty of victims to them. Myself included."

Sonic nearly tripped at that.

"You okay?" I asked, helping him up.

"Yeah, but what happened?" Sonic asked.

"Well, most of it's a blur but I can give you the basic idea." I said. "It was early winter and it had just begun to get into the 30s. We were waiting in line to get a drink from the fountain because we had just come in from recess. There were only a few in front of me when the guy behind me, David, pushed me out of line. I got back into place at once but he pushed me out of line again and then again. Something snapped and I sensed it but it was too late, 'cause less then half a second later he punched me in the cheek. The next thing I know I was sitting right in front of a wall, holding my cheek and crying. I don't remember if it was out of fear, shock, surprise, or pain but I remember crying. David was suspended for a week after that. The year after, he was sent to another school after he hit a girl with a desk three times."

"Ouch, I hope she was alright." Sonic said.

"Don't worry, it was Nicki Lapash, she's one of those fast girls so she was alright. That was what toppled the dominos though. It was what happened next that did it, sort of. He grabbed a pair of thick scissors and threatened to kill her with them. The teacher took him tot he principal, who, for some stinkin' reason, let him go without a punishment! However, what David said next really did it. He said: I should have killed that girl when I had the chance. He was out for good after that!"

"Man, now I REALLY take that wish back." Sonic said.

"Very wise idea, Sonic." I said.

"What else have they done?" Sonic asked.

"Well, one guy slammed a door on a guy's head, literally. From the sound of it, you just knew he dead, but it wasn't Lucas, the guy who closed the door that was the dangerous one, it was the other guys in the class! They were so mad and they were out for blood! The teacher could only tell him to run. I think the chase went on for about half an hour, I don't remember." I said.

"Was the kid okay?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, it was a miracle his skull wasn't crushed, let alone killed!" I said.

"Yuck." Sonic cringed.

"Yeah, so you can understand why I love being away from my school so much, it gets me away from those dangerous boys." I said. "One of these days they're going to end up on A.M.W."

"A.M.W.?" Sonic asked.

"America's Most Wanted." I answered. "It's an hour long show to show the public the faces and tell the stories about the most dangerous criminals and why they belong behind bars. Other wise, over nine hundred of America's most dangerous or most constant criminals would still probably still be on the streets. You never know where they could pop up! Heck, they could be your next door, neighbor!"

"What are some of the crimes?" Sonic asked.

"Usually killers, rapists, bank robbers, kidnappers, con-men, and some very strange men." I said.

"Strange how?" Sonic asked.

"These two sick and twisted brothers, claiming to be working under the order of God, kidnapped women, and claimed they were trying to "purify" them." I answered. "They even had one of them wear a diaper, treated them like slaves, made them say that they loved them, handcuffed them to a bed, and sexually abused them."

"BLECK! That's disgusting!" Sonic snapped.

"You think that's bad? There's worse. A woman kidnapped another woman's young baby son from her very arms and took off! He's sent more time away from his mother then with her! It makes me sick!" I hissed.

"That is bad." Sonic agreed.

"But probably the one that really ticks me off the most is "The Predator"." I said.

"The Predator?" Sonic asked.

"Yes. You see, there's this world wide famous theme park, Orlando Florida, there's a rapist hiding there somewhere and he 'prays' on young women, but it's the youngest one that disgusts me." I hissed again.

"How young?" Sonic asked.

"Hold onto your socks, 'cause this is gonna blow you right out of your shoes!" I said. "The youngest girl he did it to was…" I shuddered before saying it. "Only nine-years-old."

Sonic's pupils shrank to the size of grains of rice.

"Are you serious?" Sonic asked.

"Dead serious, Sonic." I replied flatly. "When they finally got him after months of chasing him, the judge let him go on house arrest with a tracking device! But after only six weeks he but it off and just walked away and no one has seen him since!"

"Man, that stinks!" Sonic growled.

"And there are how many hundred others like them! Most of them can't be found as easily as Garvin though." I grumbled.

"Garvin?" Sonic asked.

"Number one reason not to go to the gym." I said. "She's sneak into the woman's locker room during the classes, then take out her bolt cutters and break into the lockers. She'd take the purses and then make a break for it. She'd then go the bank and then call the owner, claiming to be an officer or detective, and ask for pin numbers, how the person can get their money from the bank, swindled twice. After they aired her story on A.M.W. they caught her, only twenty-two hours after to be exact."

"Well at least she's off the street." Sonic said.

"Yeah, if only they ALL could be." I said.

"Yeah." Sonic sighed.

I sighed as well. There's no telling where freaks could show up, that's why I watched the show, incase I ever saw any of them I could be useful and get them behind bars. But the problem was that, so far, only two of them had been in my home state of Ohio, and one of them was fleeing from it to Texas, the rest, in just about every other state other then Alaska.

"Something up?" Sonic asked.

"Just thinking." I said.

"'Bout what?" Sonic asked.

"Nothing important." I said.

Sonic kept looking at me. I could feel his gaze on me. What happened next, I could never have guessed. Sonic quickly grabbed my hand and started running.

"Ah! Sonic! Slow down, I can't run that fast!" I cried, struggling to keep up.

"Don't worry, just keep your head up and run!" Sonic said, picking up the pace.

I kept my head up and what happened next only was in my wildest dreams: I was able to keep up with Sonic! He was still ahead of me but it was amazingly easy to keep up. I was panting and quickly becoming tired from all of the energy I was using up. I guess Sonic could see that, cause for a second he stopped, let me run ahead for second, and then scooped me up.

As Sonic ran, he stared at me and I did the same but it wasn't out of love, from wither of us, I could tell. It seemed…familiar somehow, and not just the speed. When he said 'don't worry, just keep your head up and run' it sounded fairly familiar. I had heard it in Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 but that wasn't where I had heard it, from somewhere else. But where…and when?

I looked at Sonic and for some reason it was familiar. Sonic continued carrying me for I don't know how long but we did stop at one point. I didn't know where we were at first because I had been hiding my eyes in his chest. When I looked, I was surprised. It was a field of flowers, probably the most beautiful I had ever seen.

"You like 'em?" Sonic asked.

"Yes, they're beautiful." I said in awe. The whole time, I forgot Sonic was still holding me.

He gently placed me down and walked closer.

"What's your favorite color?" Sonic asked.

"Blue." I answered.

In a flash, Sonic was gone. For moment, a pang of panic struck me at the heart. What was going on? Just when I started to think Sonic left me, he returned with he hands behind his back.

"I picked these for you." Sonic said, revealed what he had behind his back: a bundle of blue flowers.

"Oh, Sonic, they're beautiful." I said in awe.

"Yeah, figured I'd try to cheer you up a bit, stuff like that is bound to bring up painful memories." He said.

"Yeah."

Sonic handed me the flowers and I was more then happy to take them. They smelled better then anything I knew of. Sonic took one from the bundle and placed it gently behind my ear.

"It really makes you look beautiful." Sonic said softly.

That line sounded familiar to me as well but I still didn't know where or when but that wasn't on my mind at the moment. What was if Sonic had said I was beautiful, that was something no one had EVER called me. I was usually considered the girl everyone picked on just because it was fun. I HATED it when they did that. I was just about ready to claw their eyes out sometimes I was an outcast because I was the only girl in my class and there were only three other girls my age in our school but they were all in another class all together. The rest were much younger then us, or they were in the High School that was in the basement.

The worse part was the guys in my class were a bunch of idiots and jerks for almost the entire time, there was one, two, maybe three nice guys of fifteen or so boys. Only one of them was actually nice constantly, the rest were only nice sometimes but the rest of the time, they were jerks.

They would never give me a compliment like that. But then again, beauty was one of the last things on my mind, along with being cool, they just weren't for me and I didn't really care if I was cool or not. But it was things like this that made me an outcast. The other girls accepted me but hardly any of the guys. They would usually cuss at me, yank my hair, and pass notes saying: I hate Shelby Workman. I knew because I caught a glimpse of one being passed right in front of me, and on purpose.

Times like that left me all alone in the world, it was like nobody understood me and still didn't. I stood up for others but when I stood up for myself nobody helped me and when I did, stand up for myself, I got in trouble with my teachers and parents and when I got their help, things only got worse. They called me tattletale, and teacher's pet. Whenever this happened, I was stuck choking on my own throat, tears in my eyes, spitting out fake threats and when I did, I got in trouble. It was just something I couldn't win. It never ended. I just didn't belong. I was on my own. I didn't know how I could get a good future with them destroying my confidence left and right.

As I went over those thoughts in my head, I saw that Sonic was looking into my eyes. I could see that he was reading me like a book. He now knew my thoughts. I was half expecting him to run off and leave. It was like the stuff I was used to, try to speak your mind and you end up alone. I curled up into a ball, trying to hold my tears. I was going to be alone again. I just knew it.

After what seemed like a long time, I felt a pair of hands touch my shoulders. I looked up in surprise. Sonic had rested his hands on my shoulders and was sitting right next to me. I could see something in his eyes, saying in a clam yet demanding voice: "do it". And I did.

I rested my head on his shoulder and started crying. It hurt more then anything but I still did. Sonic held me, stroking my back, hugging me, just about anything to make me stop crying.

"Shelby, stop crying." He said softly. "I promise, I'll do everything to make sure you're not hurt…I promise."

I looked up at him with red puffy eyes.

"Thank you." I whispered.

Sonic pulled me into a hug and for the first time since, I don't remember when, I felt like I belonged somewhere.

"C'mon." Sonic said, picking me up. "Lets' go home."

I closed my eyes and stayed quiet. I was right about Sonic. He really was a big sweet heart even though he sometimes had strange ways of showing it. I looked up at him and made my own promise but not aloud, in my heart.

"I promise you Sonic, I'll repay you for this." 


	11. A Shadowy Fake

**Chapter eleven: A Shadowy Fake**

"How did I get here?" I asked myself again.

Somehow I had let myself be talked into performing with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles at party, we were the entertainment. I wasn't too sure about it now. Sure I had sang in school concerts but I hadn't done that in years! I wasn't even sure if I could get myself to sing now, when I did at home, my brother would say I couldn't sing.

"C'mon, Shell, didn't you tell me you started singing rock and roll when you were only three?" Sonic asked.

"That was a long time ago, Sonic." I corrected.

"Yeah, but if I remember correctly, you said that you were one of the four chosen for your last school concert?" Sonic asked.

"That was four or three years ago, I haven't sung in public since then."

The look on Sonic's face told me he wasn't going to give up that easily. The weapon he used, I never could have dodged or guessed: puppy dog eyes. He made himself look extremely cute, I didn't know what to do.

"I'll stop if you sing." He said.

"Alright, alright, just stop." I said.

"HA! Score!" He said, returning to normal.

"You know I'm gonna get you for this." I teased.

"Yeah, I know." He said, picking up his guitar.

"What song are we doing anyways?" I asked.

"Well…I sort of bored one of your CDs." Sonic said sheepishly. "The one that read "Sonic Blast". We learned that last song."

I sighed in relief, the song was "You're my Hero" I'd be able to do that one…I hoped.

"We're on in five minutes guys." Tails said.

"Hope you're ready to rock." Sonic told Knuckles.

"You know I am." Knuckles said, twirling his drumsticks.

"I didn't know you could play the drums Knuckles." I said.

"You didn't?" Knuckles asked.

"Nor did I know that Tails could play the keyboard."

"You didn't?" Tails asked.

"Well the series never showed you guys playing them." I shrugged. "In nearly half of them Sonic has played the electric guitar."

"Then who were those two other singers in that Sonic Underground CD?" Tails asked.

"Just a couple of characters you've never met." I said.

I didn't want to cause any confusion with questions about characters that weren't even in that universe.

"Three minutes!" Tails said.

"You guys ready?" Sonic asked.

"I was born ready." Knuckles said, twirling his drumsticks again.

'I hope I am.' I thought.

"C'mon, you'll do great." Sonic reassured.

"Would you get out of my mind?" I asked.

"Just messin' with ya." Sonic laughed.

I just sighed, Sonic loved to be a clown sometimes, mostly when it was to annoy Sally or Sonia.

"We're on!" Tails said.

"Okay, let's get out there guys!" Sonic said.

As the blinding light filled the dark stage, I began to have second thoughts. This was probably nothing new to the guys but this was an all time first for me. Sonic walked up to the microphone and said,

"Hello, Knothole City!"

The crowd cheered loudly.

"We have an awesome show for you tonight! Our first song is called "You're my Hero" sung by Knothole's newest resident, and my new friend, Shelby Hedgehog!"

"Huh?" I whispered. Had Sonic just called me, Shelby Hedgehog? Well whatever he called me, the crowd cheered wildly. I walked up to the microphone and glanced at Sonic. He gave me an assuring wink and looked at the others. I sighed, closed my eyes, the boys started with the music and I began singing.

"I was trapped inside, for so very long

How could things turn out so wrong?

You came along to save the day I knew that everything would be okay

My knight in shining armor came my life would never be the same

'Cause you're my hero

You came to rescue me

And now you set me free

There's so much, that I wanna make you see

You're my hero

Don't ever let me go

I just want you to know

There's so much inside and I wanna let it show

And now I owe so much to you

Is there anything that I can do?

I want to show you that I can

When you need me I'll be there

I hope that you don't go away I always wish that you would stay

'Cause you're my hero

You came to rescue me

And now you set me free.

There's so much that I wanna make you see

You're my hero

Don't ever let me go

I just want you to know

There's so much inside and I wanna let it show

'Cause you're my hero

You came to rescue me

And now you set me free

There's so much…that I wanna make you see

You're my hero."

Once the song ended I opened my eyes. The crowd was motionless. I looked to the floor.

'I should have known this would happen.'

As soon as I thought that, a wild cheer came from the crowd. I looked up to see, that they were going wild!

"Way to go, Shell." Sonic said.

I looked at him, confused.

"They're cheering for you, and you did great." He finished.

"Sonic…"

"Way to go, Aunt Shelby!" Tails said.

"Yeah, you really stepped it up." Knuckles said.

"Guys…"

I could barely get my sentence out.

"You did great, that's all that matters." Sonic said, wrapping his arm around me.

"Knock it off Sonic, you're making the girl blush." Knuckle said.

Sonic let go after a few seconds but it was too late to stop the blush.

"C'mon, there's someone else after this." Sonic said, taking my hand.

As we left the stage I looked to the back of the crowd. I cocked my eyebrow when I saw two figures, one pink and the other green. Why they stood out I didn't know, but at the other end of the room, I saw a purple figure dressed in a deep red cloak, but for some strange reason, I felt like I had seen them somewhere before.

Once we were back stage another group our place and began playing a wild song.

"Sonic?" I asked after a while.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Have you seen Shadow?"

"No, why?"

"He hasn't been acting like himself."

"How so?"

"Well, you two haven't had a single fight yet, I haven't seen him so much as make eye contact. He's also been talking to himself, avoiding me as much as possible, he hasn't even left Knothole yet like he normally would."

"Hm, good point."

"Plus, I had this strange dream last night."

"So what?"

I told Sonic all about the dream, not sparing a single detail. By the time I was done, I felt spent.

"That's the craziest dream I've ever heard." Sonic said.

"I know, but I think it might be saying something." I said.

"Maybe."

"I'm going to find Shadow and have a little "talk"."

"Hold on, I'll go with you."

Sonic and I left the Dining Hut, still leaving me wondering about the three figures I saw. After a few minutes, we finally spotted him by the river, saying,

"Come in Doctor, this is Shadow, over."

"Shadow, where are you?" The angry voice of the doctor yelled.

"I'm in Knothole, the girl is here as well." Shadow said.

"What? Shadow's working for Dr. Eggman?" Sonic asked. "I thought he saw the light."

"He has." I said.

"Then why's he working for the doc?" Sonic asked.

"Because that's NOT Shadow!" I said sternly.

"How can you tell?" Sonic asked.

"Watch."

Sonic and I had been on an old rotting log near its uprooted roots, so I was able to creep down easily. I snuck up on the hedgehog before me, and pushed him right the water. There were sparks of electricity jumping out of the water like crazy! After nearly a minute Sonic asked,

"YEESH! Is it done?"

"I'll say, and what a stench!" I replied.

"Yeah, it smells like an electrical fire." Sonic agreed.

He carefully reached into the water and pulled out the form of Shadow.

"How'd you know?" Sonic asked.

"An true Shadow fan would know that Shadow would have picked up on us by now…that and the fact that his sneakers aren't even remotely close to the color they're supposed to be." I said.

Sonic took in the fact that Shadow's sneakers were all grey, perfectly suitable for Egg-belly.

"So, where's the real Shadow?" Sonic asked, tossing the android.

"I don't know, but I bet this robot can tell us." I said, gesturing to the android.

Sonic ran back to Knothole to get the Brain Trust on the robot. Once he was gone, I let out sigh. I once again wished I didn't have to tell such a vicious lie again. I knew very well where Shadow was and I had to help him, I promised him but I couldn't tell the Freedom Fighters that, they'd think I was working with Egg-belly if I tell them we have to rush in there without a plan and only a promise and a dream to lead them. There was only one option: I had go on my own to save him.

---

Sonic returned to the android as fast as he could. He nearly missed it because it was laying on the ground without Shelby anywhere in sight.

"Over here!" He called to the others following him.

Tails was the first one there.

"This the thing?" Tails asked.

"Bingo." Sonic said.

Tails began to take the robot apart as the others arrived.

"Man, Robotnik's good, this thing fooled everyone." Rotor said.

"Except Shelby." Sonic said.

"What, what are you talking about, Sonic?" Sally asked.

"She's the one who figured out that this thing was a robot." Sonic said.

"Well right now MY question is: where is she?" Sally asked.

"Huh?" That was when Sonic realized that she wasn't there. "Oh man, she must have gone after Shadow herself!"

"You think so?" Bunnie asked.

"She WAS the one who figured it out, and she told me about this mondo weird dream she had." Sonic said.

"What was it about?" Dulcy asked.

"It was way weird, she and Shadow were switching places for control over his body while trying to escape from Ro'butt'nik's prison." Sonic explained.

"You don't think she went there, do you?" Amy asked.

"Afraid so, Ames." Sonic said.

"Then what do we do?" Sally asked.

"We wait." Sonic said. "If she's able to break out of Ro'butt'nik's prison on her own, then she should be able to break in no problem. Who knows, she might just run into Espio and convince him to come home."

"I hope she'll be alright." Amy said in a whisper.

"Don't worry, Amy. I'm sure she'll be just fine!" Tails said.

'I hope.' Tails thought.

However, unbeknownst to the Freedom Fighters, one of them was being watched.

---

The green dragon eyes watched, unblinking. His cruel plan would soon take place.


	12. In the Face of Danger

**Chapter twelve: In the Face of Danger**

I couldn't believe that I was doing this. I had to be crazy to go after Shadow on my own, so I probably was. But however, I felt like I was the only one who could help him. After a few minutes I was hoping to contact him in my mind again.

'Shadow? Are you there? Can you hear me?'

Silence.

'Shadow, please answer.'

Silence.

I sighed heavily. Shadow was in suspended animation there was no waking him.

"C'mon Shelby, think. How did Rouge wake Shadow up?" I asked myself. "She found out the code in Sonic Heroes but it was Chris in danger in Sonic X. I couldn't figure out that dumb code even if I used all my brainpower but I sure don't wanna be in a plane falling from the sky!" I sighed. "Manic makes it look so easy."

I had a few problems before I could even get to Shadow. Like how in the world would I get inside the base, then I'd have to deal with SWATbots, Eggman, Snivley, and who knows what else. After what seemed like hours of trudging through woods, I spotted it: Robotropolis.

I grit my teeth at the sight of it. Somewhere in that city, Shadow was asleep, and I was going to find him.

I was about to jump from my hiding spot under some huge leafs when a HUGE shadow loomed over me. I looked up, almost scared of what I'd see. Sure enough, it was there: one of the many ships of the Egg Fleet! He was going for Knothole!

I looked co the city, and then to the direction of Knothole. I remembered issue 175, Sonic would need all the help he could get but on the other hand, I could become a burden and get caught. What to do? What to do? That's when an idea slowly worked its way into my mind. It was just crazy enough to work! Nut to do it, I had to get to Eggman's base, and NOW!

I ran as fast as I could through the dangerous city, trying my best not to get caught or seen. I'll still never know how I got to Eggman's base so easily but I made it! Now the problem was getting inside. There was a keyboard next the door so it was a written code, not my best event. But I had to come up with something otherwise everything would be lost, even Sonic.

I had to think, knowing Eggman, it was so something obvious, that it would be right in my face the whole time, but what? I struggled to think of something. I started hitting my head out of desperation.

'AUGH! I hate this!' I thought.

Then it dawned on me. Could it be so obvious? Well, only one, way to find out. I started typing in what I had in mind.

I H-A-T-E T-H-A-T H-E-D-E-G-E-H-O-G!

"Password: Accepted." A robotic voice said.

"Egg-belly, I've got your number." I smirked and ran in.

I focused mostly on my memories on getting back to the cells we were in. I'd be able to follow what I remembered from the dream to the elevator and find that capsule. After all, who was to say it was the only that went to that room so intruders couldn't get in. I had to play by Eggman's rules.

"Okay, unless I'm completely lost, the cells should be right around this corner." I told myself.

Almost scared to do so, I peeked around the corner. Sure enough, there was the desk placed in front of Shadow's cell.

"Bingo."

I then thought of the dream. The doctor made a left turn when he dragged me, and I was right next to another hallway. That's where I had to go. I ran down a little ways and made a sharp left turn but stopped. The elevator that the doctor had dragged us into was supposed to be at the end of the hall, but it wasn't there.

I had to think. There had to be some sort of trick here. As I thought, my gaze fell upon a…mirror? It wasn't the mirror that scared me. It was what it was reflecting: an elevator! That was it! The elevator was hidden, of course!

With a heart full of hope, I placed my hand on the wall, feeling an elevator button under it. Bingo. I pressed it and the wall opened, revealing the elevator.

"Yes! Sonic the Hedgehog, eat your heart out." I said.

I quickly got into the elevator and pressed the basement floor button. The elevator sprung to life and I went down. As it went, I had to figure out how to get Shadow out of that prison.

"Let's see, how does Sonic do it?" I whispered.

By the time I had reached the floor I needed, I already had a plan in mind.

The doors opened, revealing the same room from my dream. And right in front of me, just a few yards away, was the capsule, and inside, Shadow. I walked up to it, quickly and quietly.

It was just as I thought: I needed to hack the computer to get it to open.

'Oh, where's that Bat Brain, Rouge, when you need her?' I thought but I still had an ace up my sleeve. I placed my hands over my mouth and said,

"Open this cell!"

I surprised myself as to how well I imitated the doctor's voice.

"Voice approved." The computer droned. "Hand print required."

"OPEN UP THIS CELL BEFORE I TEAR OUT YOUR ROBOTIC BRAIN!" I half yelled.

"Hand print not required. You are Robotnik." The computer droned.

I smirked happily.

"Thank you SatAM series." I said quietly.

BLAST!

"AH!"

A laser had just flown over my head! I looked to see,

"SWATbutts." I groaned.

I cried out when I saw the capsule: a laser had fired the controls! Shadow was trapped! I would have tried to break the glass but I would be no help if I were being blasted with lasers!

"Don't worry, Shadow! I'll come back! I promise!" I cried and ran.

---

"I promise!"

Shadow stayed motionless. He stayed perfectly still, no signs of life anywhere. But then one thing crossed his mind.

'Thank you.'

---

I kicked the door to the stairwell open! I had to get away from those SWATbots.

'Feet, don't fail me now!' I thought.

As I raced up the stairs, lasers were being shot straight up the center of the stairwell. Not very smart robots, are they?

That's what I thought before they started using their lasers to cut through the stairs! I always jinxed myself by doing this.

'Sonic! Help me!' I cried in my mind. 'Oh, I should have waited for him. I always do this!'

That was when I realized something: Sonic may not be here but a part of him is! I just hoped I could do it without him.

I put my head up and ran. I was too scared to really pay attention as to how fast I was going at the time but if I had, I wouldn't have been as scared. I didn't stop running until I had made a sharp turn and into the fifty or so floor.

I slammed the door behind me and ran into a nearby room. I waited a little to catch my breath.

"Do you have what I requested, Snivley?"

I nearly jumped out of my fur at that. I peeked father into the room. There were several boxes, most of them filled with stuff I didn't even recognize.

"This is the last of it, sir." Snively said, placing a box down.

"We must know more about that girl. I'm going to have her talk, even if it kills me!" Eggman roared.

"Then you better start digging a grave." I growled.

"Sir, the Egg Fleet has arrived in Knothole, shall we begin?" Snivley asked.

"Of course. This shall be wonderful." Eggman said with a sickening grin.

I watched them leave before coming out of my hiding place. There were several boxes all over the room. Mostly they were filled with files of all sorts. I took one in my hand and opened it. It was about Benjamin Rush! My ancestor! I opened another. It was about Warn Cunningham, my grandfather from my mother's side of the family! Another was of Paul Workman, my grandfather from my dad's side of the family!

"Man, this guy is one crazed up fruit loop. What does he want with all this junk for anyways?" I wondered aloud.

That was when something sticking out of a box caught my eye. Something…blue…and tie died! It was my favorite cap! What did that overgrown egg want with my cap? Either way, he wasn't getting his paws on it. I grabbed it and placed it in my backpack. That was when I saw what was under it: my copy of A Thousand and One Arabian Nights! I was about to grab it when a line ran through my head.

"If our world ceases to exist, then not only will those stories be silenced forever, but the Erazor Djinn will then be unleashed into your world."

Upon hearing that line in my mind, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Sonic and the Secret Rings." I whispered.

I quickly shook the feeling off and opened the book. I flipped through each page as quickly as I possibly could, scared of what I'd see. In the end, everything was just as it was, not a single page touched.

'As Wave once said: You can never be too careful.' I thought and slipped the book into my backpack, if something happened, I'd be the first to know. However, that became the last thing on my mind in a hurry, because I heard the doctor's voice, and he was talking to himself…or so I thought.

"I TOLD Snivley to leave you for me!"

Putting my worries to the back of my mind, I got closer. I could see the doctor wearing some sort of strange green gloves, or that's what they looked like. However I knew better. It was the controls for the super battle suit he used to destroy Knothole in issue 175!

I knew very well that Sonic was going to have a hard time tearing that thing apart, the most damage he had done to it in the comic was denting the shield only once! And he only got that result by charging headfirst to the East Coast and then making a hairpin turn and then charging faster then he had ever gone before and charged the robot!

As I remembered this, I began to wonder if Sonic could only do that much damage then I began to wonder what could I possibly do? No! I mustn't think like that! It'll only make it worse! I could help, and I would!

I shook those thoughts from my mind I had to stay focused! I had been zoned out for long enough! On the screen was Sonic in one of the robot's hands! Had I been that ignorant? Didn't matter, I had to stop Eggman from hurting Sonic even more! But before I could even move, Eggman spoke up.

"Oh, and that girl, Shelby, I hacked into the computer system on her planet. Turns out she knew about this." I heard him say. "She knew from the start. But she didn't warn you, did she? You thought she was your friend, she didn't tell you about this. She ran away when she figured out about it. She fled, and left you to take on the attack. She doesn't care about you."

That did it. I snapped. You can make fun of me, you can attack me, you can say unkind things about me, and you can say I can't sing but when you say I don't care about Sonic, that's where I draw the line! I got up from my hiding place, ran from my hiding place, and pushed Eggman but I still held on.

---

Sonic looked at the screen in wonder. Was that Shelby who just saved him? From Eggman of all people!

"What's going on?" He asked quietly.

---

We both tumbled a little ways before I was right on top of Eggman's chest, holding him by the collar of his jacket.

"W-W-W-What are you doing here?" Eggman demanded.

"I'm here to stop you from hurting Sonic, Ro'butt'nik." I growled.

"Ha! You couldn't hurt a fly!" Eggman yelled.

"Maybe not, but I can crack an egg like you!" I growled and scratched at his face.

It quickly tuned into a fight for the controls to the super suit. At once point, I finally managed to take them off of his fat hands, and push him back into a wall.

"Sit down!" I snapped.

"And if I don't?" Eggman yelled.

"You don't want to know." I said in a cold voice.

I took the glove like controls and placed them over my own hands. I walked onto the control pad, extremely serious. I just hoped Sonic was alright.

"Sonic? Can you hear me?" I asked.

"S…Shelby?" His voice came from the speakers.

"Oh, thank goodness you're still alive." I said.

"Shelby, I thought you ran away because of this." Sonic said.

"I would never do that!" I snapped. "Sonic you have to believe me! If I had known about this I would have told you from the start!"

"You…you would have?"

"Of course!" By this time, I could feel tears building up. "Sonic, if there's anything I've learned from following you for seven years is this: Hold onto what you believe in. Hold onto it with both arms! Never let go! Even if you do, it's okay, keep going for it! As long as you have something to fight for, anything at all, keep fighting for it. Even if you lose everything, keep fighting! Even if you only have one thing in the entire universe that's left for fighting for, keep fighting! Never give up the fight! Keep pressing forward! Put your energy into today, not yesterday. Put only a few things behind you, but remember all the good things! As long as you keep moving forward, everything will be fine. The pain of losing others will never go away, but once the victory has come celebrate with those alive and remember the dead, hoping that they can see it. Live…to be happy."

I saw sure I had tears showing by now, I was too deep in what I was saying to really notice. When I was done, I could barely believe what I had heard my voice say. Had _I_ really said that? Me? The quiet little nobody who was never really noticed back home? I didn't know I could speak like that. I tried to speak but I couldn't get the words out.

I looked at Sonic. Had he heard what I said, or did I imagine it?

"Shelby, those words will never leave my mind."

I wasn't imagining it!

"Sonic, nobody is dead, not yet anyways." I said. "They're all here, at Eggman's base, in the Egg Grapes! If you don't hurry, they'll be turned into feul!"

"What? How?"

"Egg Grapes turn life force into an energy Eggman plans on using to filter out the Zone of Silence! If there's anyone left, hurry and get to Robotropolis! If you don't everyone is going to be turned into ashes!"

"I'll be there as soon as I can!"

"I'll try and hold Eggman off to buy you some time, hurry!"

"You fool!"

I turned quickly to see Eggman, who pushed me from the control pad. He then grabbed the controls from my arms and pushed me into a wall nearby.

"Don't move it you don't want to be blasted!" Eggman threatened, holding up the same gun from Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.

I didn't dare move a muscle I didn't want to get my head blasted off! Eggman turned to Sonic and growled cruel things to him but I was too focused on the gun to really be paying any attention. After a minute, Eggman made a gesture with his arm, which looked like he was throwing something downwards. I knew he was throwing Sonic and quite frankly, that made my blood boil.

"Now for you." Eggman said, turning back to me. "You're going to tell me how this all turns out or else!"

"Or else what, Egg-head?" I shot back.

"Or else you'll have a bullet in you somewhere." Eggman growled, almost calmly.

"I'd never tell you ever if my life was on the line." I growled.

"Are you sure?" Eggman asked, pushing the gun closer.

I grit my teeth, oh how I wanted to bite his hand at that moment.

"Now are you going to talk?" Eggman asked, putting to gun to my cheek.

"Never." I growled.

"You're loss." Eggman said.

I could see him ready to pull the trigger and I braced myself. Then one thing came to my mind: Shout Defense Curl.

My eyes snapped wide open! Where had that come from? Didn't matter, because I shouted it at once.

"Defense Curl!"

There was a gunshot! My eyes went wide. I had heard a shot, but felt no pain. What had happened? 


	13. The Egg Grapes Break

**Chapter thirteen: The Egg Grapes Break**

I looked up to see a sort of orb like shield surrounding me.

"What?" I wondered.

But then I remembered shouting 'Defense Curl' and then hearing a gunshot.

'Why in the world did I called out the name of a Pokemon attack?' I thought.

Then I remembered the voice I had heard.

"Shadow." I whispered.

Had…had he been the one who saved me? No, it couldn't be. He was still in a state of suspended animation. He wouldn't be able to do such a thing while inside that capsule. I shook my head. I'd figure it out later I had to get out of this sphere!

I slowly stood up and the sphere disappeared very strange.

Eggman was gone he must have run off when the bullet didn't hit me. I looked around, and then I saw the controls for the battle suit! Then I remembered where everyone was!

"Where's the Egg Grape chamber?" I wondered, taking off.

I had run for only a ways before I came to a stop. There was a large entrance to a single room, and a familiar voice was speaking.

"Eggman." I growled.

As fate would have it, I was right outside the Egg Grape chamber. Wonderful, I was right outside a place that might as well have been named: Death's Chamber. Eggman was going on about how much "fun" it was to fight the Freedom Fighters making his rule that more enjoyable. I was ready to tear his throat out, I was so mad. I knew one thing though: if I didn't do something and soon, everyone was going to be cooked! Eggman had Charmy's Egg Grape right in front of him, held by a robotic claw.

"Charmy Bee," I heard Eggman say. "Haven't I already destroyed your life, your kingdom and some what?"

I had nearly forgotten that in the comics that Charmy was a prince.

"Yes, you have." Charmy said. "Despite all that, I've still fought for our planet, no more matter what you did to me and I'm not alone!"

He got several cheers from the other Freedom Fighters for that quick speech.

"Brave last words." Eggman said. "Snively."

"With pleasure, Sir." Snively said, ready to activate the Egg Grape.

Not this time! I charged! I kicked Eggman in the back of his legs, causing him to slip off the catwalk for a platform, but he was holding onto the railing, so he was alive. I then turned to Snively.

"Press that button and you're next!" I yelled, lifting him up by his collar.

"Oh dear!" Snivley said, scared out of his wits.

"GO, SHELBY!"

That was Charmy! I turned to him, and saw him cheering…for me.

"Way to go!" Vector called.

"Yeah!" Mighty said happily.

"You show 'em, girl!" Jullie-Su cheered.

Soon there were cheers from all around me. Even Sally was cheering. I could feel my heart soaring, just like it had when Tails called me "Aunt Shelby". But despite all that, I stayed focused on Snivley.

"Now you're gonna free everyone from these Egg Grapes and after that, I'm taking you to the basement to free Shadow from that capsule, you got it?" I growled.

"Y…yes." He said weakly.

"Good." I said, dropping him. "Now open those Egg Grapes."

"They…they can't be opened, they have to be…b-b-broken."

"Then I guess I just found me a wrecking ball," I looked at Eggman, "And a pickaxe." I was looking at Snivley, who was shaking like a leaf.

"BEHIND YOU!" Sally cried.

I quickly turned around, to see Eggman! He then pushed me, HARD. So hard, in fact, that I was sent to the railing. Before I could even make another move, Eggman pushed me again, but this time, he sent me over!

I was falling a few hundred feet! I could never survive that fall! I could hear the Freedom Fighters calling out my name but it was hopeless.

CRASH!

I looked down over my shoulder to see quite a sight: Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles on a sort of saucer they had built. They hadn't been captured!

"SHELBY!"

That was Sonic! But it was pointless to try and save me now. I was too close to the ground, falling too fast. I'd it before he could even get to me. It was over. Then I hit and everything went dark.

---

"SHELBY!"

Sonic ran to the girl's side after she had hit. He had NEVER seen anything fall so fast!

"Aunt Shelby!" Tails cried, running to the girl's side. "Is…is she alright, Sonic?"

"I…I don't know, Tails." Sonic said. "But we've gotta stick to the plan."

"Knuckles, Amy, break everyone out!" Tails instructed.

"Sonic, Eggman's the one who pushed her off the catwalk!" Charmy called.

"What?" Sonic growled.

Sonic scooped up the blue hedgehog, and ran straight up the wall, to Eggman. Amy and Knuckles were worried as well, but they still broke everyone out of the Egg Grapes.

"What, how can you be here? You're supposed to be beaten, your spirit broken!" Eggman cried as Sonic landed on the controls.

"Guess your calculations were wrong!" Sonic growled. "I'm going to make sure Shelby's alive, you've got that much of a head start, Eggman."

The two overlanders didn't waste any time, and ran.

"You said you got them all, **YOU MISSED THREE!**" Eggman roared at his nephew.

"Three out of how many hundred?" Snivley demanded.

**"SHUT UP AND KEEP RUNNING!"**

Seeing that it was now safe, Tails flew to the controls. He tore off the panel that hid everything, allowing Nicole to plug in. Without A.D.A.M. around, the system was wide open. However Tails wasn't worried in the least about that, he was more worried about his possibly dying friend.

"Aunt Shelby, please be alright." He whispered as tears began to build.

The past couple of weeks had been hard enough. They had already lost two friends to the dead, Sir Connery and Tommy Turtle, and then Fiona left with Scourge, leaving both him and Sonic broken hearted, and now this! He looked over the railing, to see quite the sight: everyone who had been in the Egg Grapes, were surrounding Doctor Quack, who was examining the girl.

"Please don't die." He whispered.

---

Else where in the building, in the basement, a certain black and red hedgehog felt something happen. He may have been in suspended animation but one thought ran through his mind so quickly it was easy to miss.

'Don't die.'

And one of his rings started glowing…

---

"Doctor Quack?" Amy asked.

"Well, Amy, I don't what to say." The duck said, before examining the girl. "That was quite a fall she had, and landing on her head no doubt. The chances of her being alright, let alone alive are…" He couldn't say.

"It's not right!" Rouge said. "She goes and saves probably all of us, but then she…she's taken all at once!"

"It's not right!" Jullie-Su agreed.

"I swear, I'm going to get Eggman for this, if it's the last thing I do." Sonic growled.

"Alright, let me take a look." Quack said.

Minutes went by, and everyone was on pins and needles, waiting for the news. Even the their enemies with whom they had fought with so many times who had been in the Egg Grapes were waiting for the news of this single girl.

"By the glory of the source!" Dr. Quack said in pure astonishment.

"What? What?" Sonic demanded.

"She…she's alive!" He said.

"From a fall like that?" Espio asked in shock.

"I…I don't believe it!" Saffron said.

"Yo Tails!" Sonic called. "SHE'S ALIVE!"

Tails nearly did a back flip when he heard that! It was music to his ears.

---

My eyes slowly fluttered open.

'Where am I?'

That was the first thing that came to my mind.

I quickly sat up and looked around. I was in a sort of field full of wild flowers.

"How'd I get here?" I asked aloud.

I looked around a bit until I saw someone else standing in the field.

"Sonic?" I asked quietly.

Then there was someone standing next to him.

"Shadow?"

They both had their backs to me.

_You must choose one._

I jumped to my feet at the voice. Where had that come from?

"Choose? Choose what?" I asked.

_You must choose one._

"One of what?" I demanded.

_One of the two hedgehogs…_

I was taken aback by that answer. This…unearthly voice wanted me to pick either Sonic or Shadow.

"W…What'll happen to the one that I don't choose?" I asked. There was always a catch with this sort of thing.

_He shall die._

I was took a step back. This person wanted me to save one of my favorite hedgehogs and send the other hurdling to his death? I don't think so!

"And if I don't choose?" I asked.

_They shall both perish._

Great, I had to pick one or they would both die. But the problem was: I couldn't get the nerve to pick. I liked both of them equally, the same with all of the other Freedom Fighters.

Then a new idea came to mind, one that would where a hedgehog would indeed perish, but both Sonic and Shadow would be saved.

"I choose…both of them!" I said.

_You cannot choose-_

"I'm not done!" I snapped. "You can take me instead!"

…_You would be willing to give your live for these two hedgehogs?_

"Of course! They're my friends! I would do anything for them!"

I knew it was useless trying to give myself in the place of Sonic or Shadow, I was worth nothing compared to them but I had to try.

_You have made a wise choice, and in doing so, all three of you shall be spared._

"What?" I whispered.

The voice was gone, and I was glad that it was. I chose not to think about it too much, I would probably end up giving myself a headache. I turned to Sonic and Shadow, and I was grateful they were alive.

"Sonic, Shadow, I-"

When I had spoken, they started running!

"AH! Wait!" I called, running after them.

They were running very slow for who they were, but the were still ahead of me by about ten yards. After about a minute of chasing after them, I saw where they were leading me to: a beach!

"Wow." I said in astonishment. It was beautiful!

"Ahem."

I looked down the beach a little ways to see the two hedgehogs, just standing there, watching me.

"Guys!" I called, and started running towards them.

But almost as soon as I did, they started running away from me! However, they were going so slowly that I was catching up easily, but they stayed just a few feet ahead of me. But then they began pouring on the speed a little.

"Guys, wait up! I can't run that fast!" I called.

They didn't stop.

"WAIT!"

This time, they did stop! I stopped soon after. A moment went by, and they turned around.

'Where have I seen this before?' I thought jokingly.

Sonic then spoke up,

"Wake up, Shelby!"

The next thing I knew, the ring on Shadow's wrist started glowing so brightly, it was blinding and everything disappeared into the light.

---

This time I really did wake up. What a strange dream. I looked around me and to my surprise everyone was surrounding me.

"You okay, Shell?"

Right next to me, on one knee, was Sonic.

"Sonic, what happened?" I groaned.

"You were pushed off that catwalk, remember?"

"Take it easy, Sonic." I could see Dr. Quack to my left. "She maybe a little out of it since that fall was so big. But thankfully, as far as I can tell without my tools, she doesn't have anything long lasting, she should be able to sleep it off."

"But how will we get her out of here?" Amy asked.

"I'll carry her on my back." Sonic offered.

"Are you sure? I don't think she'll be able to stay conscious if you run with your speed." Dr Quack said.

"I'm not going to use my speed. We've got a plan and we're sticking to it." Sonic said. "And for the rest of it, my speed won't be needed."

With a slight hint of doubt, Sally and Dr. Quack helped me onto Sonic's back. Everyone was hurrying out of the hole in the wall Sonic and the others had made.

---

"We've got to go, Nicole!" Tails said, unplugging the computer.

"Very well, I've done all that I can here. I'll take care of the rest when we get home." Nicole said.

"Home what do you mean?" Tails asked.

"I'll explain later, stay with the group, Tails." Nicole said and the young fox joined the group.

"I hope this plan of yours works, Nicole."

---

I was a bit out of it as we made our escape. My head was throbbing, probably because I landed on my head after the fall. My head was rested on Sonic's shoulder, but I managed to keep up with what was going on.

"Running away as fast as you can is NOT a plan!" Sally told Sonic. She thought it was _his_ escape plan

"Whoever said it was MY plan?" Sonic asked.

"Nicole said she done all that she can here. Guess we're ready for the next stage in her plan." Tails said.

"Nicole came up with the plan?" Sally asked.

I sighed happily. I knew Nicole's plan all too well, and now, I got to see it.

"Stick together everyone!" Sally instructed.

"Dude about earlier…" Sonic was talking with Tails.

'That's right!' I thought. 'Sonic and Tails had an argument before they found Nicole. I just hope it doesn't lead up to the events in issues 178 and179.'

"Yeah, Sonic, I-"Tails started but got cut off.

"Hold that thought!" Sonic said and the entire group came to a stop.

"Was THIS part of your plan?" Sally demanded.

"Believe it or not." Sonic said.

The super battle suit was right in front of us, with Eggman piloting. I cursed at myself quietly, for not tearing it apart when I had the chance. Everyone turned around, and ran.

"Down this alley was and make the first right!" Sonic instructed.

However, everyone was disappearing left and right. It was actually scary.

"He's using a larger teleportation beam! We'll be recaptured in no time!" Sally cried as Mighty disappeared.

"Wait for it." Sonic told her.

I looked behind us, to see Sally's family disappear. I just hoped that Nicole's plan was going to work.

By the time we got to the turn Sonic told us to take, there were only four other mobians beside myself, including Sally and Sonic. Turns out we were at a dead end. Figures.

"Sonic, do you think you can Spin Dash through this wall? I can take Shelby so you-"

"I probably could, but not this time." Sonic said.

"Have you lost your mind?" Sally cried.

"No, but I don't want Eggman to over hear and ruin the surprise." Sonic said.

"SONIC-" Sally disappeared into a flash of yellow light, just like all the others.

"This is a first for you, Hedgehog, two major failures in one day." Eggman said. "Won't you put up one last hopeless fight for old times sake?"

"And give you the pleasure? Don't think so, tubs." Sonic said.

"Very well then. Any last words from your friend there?" Eggman asked, pointing at me.

"Yeah." I said. I knew I was going to get it for this. "LOSE WEIGHT!"

"Very well then." Eggman said, pointed the beam at us, and fired.

"See ya on the flip-side, tubby." Sonic said, and we disappeared.

---

"YES! I DID IT!" Eggman said. "Snivley, don't turn on the Egg Grapes until I get there."

"But sir, I've been trying to tell you this entire time! Someone tampered with the teleportation beam! There's no one in the reserved Egg Grapes!" Snivley said.

---

"Whoa." I was in awe.

Nicole's plan had worked! I could barely believe what I was seeing. It was a beautiful city all around. Everyone's homes had been rebuilt, or as Antione had said 'rebuilted'. And, to my awe, there was the most beautiful castle I had ever seen! And I knew which castle it was. I looked a few yards away and saw Sally's brother, the current king, and her father.

"Castle Acorn!" The former king said. "As it was in the days of our lost Mobotropolis!"

"That was what I was going for, your majesty."

"Whoa." Sonic said when he turned to the voice.

"This has been something I've been working on for a while now, Eggman's action have forced me to reveal it before it was finished but all the same: Welcome to new Mobotroplis, I'll be your hostess…Nicole."

She had maintained a physical form again! She was more beautiful then I thought she would be by a long shot.

"Nicole, I thought you couldn't maintain that form!" Sally said, running up to her.

"I could not until I found something robust enough for me to maintain this form." Nicole said. "I have made enough hologram pixels to allow me full use of the city."

"Great to have you this us, again." Sonic said.

After he had said that, there were several more questions from others, more then I could keep up with.

"I'll explained everything in time." Nicole said with a laugh.

"Nicole, you have already done so much for us," Sally said. "And if it hadn't been for the four of you, we would never have been able to see Nicole's beautiful city. And Shelby, thanks to you, Charmy was saved, you probably saved us all."

"Man, what we miss?" Sonic asked.

"Shelby saved my life from those Egg Grapes!" Charmy said. "If she hadn't, I'd probably be a pile of ashes right about now."

"It was nothing." I said, weakly.

"Nothing? You saved me! I owe one, big time!" Charmy said.

"Yes, you saved my husband, and I can't thank you enough!" Saffron said.

"Yeah, and the Chaotix wouldn't be the same without this little guy!" Vector said, giving Charmy one of the biggest noogies I had ever seen. I'd have to keep quiet about the "Charmy making Vector look like a clown" thing in Sonic X, even though it made me crack up every time. If they found out about that, I'd never hear the end of it, and Espio would have the biggest headache of his life.

"It was no problem, Vector." I said.

"'No problem'? Are you kidding? You could have died from that fall!" Vector said.

"Yeah, you saved my life!" Charmy said. "And maybe everyone else in there too!"

I simply gave him a sad smile. I didn't deserve such praise.

"Do not be so happy just yet." Nicole said in a sad tone. "It didn't take long for Eggman long to figure out what we did. He's on his way here to finish what he started."

I closed my eyes and sighed, but when I did, I fell asleep, run down from the physical and mental strain from the events in the past hour. 


	14. New Mobotropolis

**Chapter fourteen: New Mobotropolis**

I let out a small groan before opening my eyes. I was on some sort of hospital bed, and by the looks of the room, I was in one.

"Oh, you're awake!"

I looked to my left to see Rosie standing there with a smile on her face. She had something in her arms.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Better then I did." I answered.

"That's nice to hear." Rosie said. "And I must say, I've never seen Sonic so frantic before."

"Sonic? Frantic? Over what?" I asked.

"When you blacked out he turned so white that I thought all the blood from his cheeks had dried up." Rosie explained.

"He was that worried about me?" I whispered.

"Of course he was. That was some fall, it was a miracle that you survived."

I guess she was right. A person would easily be killed from a forty-foot drop that had to be nearly half the size of the drop I survived.

"Dr. Quack did a scan and it shows that you're perfectly fine. Other then a little tired you should be just fine."

I simply nodded my head.

"Oh, and these are for you." And she handed me what was in her arms. "Princess Sally and Bunnie helped me make them. We figured you'd need something to show yourself a little better."

They were clothes: a T-shirt, and a pair of jeans.

"And we also got you these, they should fit you a little better." Rosie said, picking something off the floor. They were sneakers, a pair of orange red sneakers.

"Why don't you try them on, see if they fit." Rosie suggested.

I climbed off the bed, took the clothes and walked into the bathroom. It took me only a minute to get everything on and when I looked at myself in the mirror in surprise. I looked just like my OC, Shelby the Hedgehog. I know it's strange to name a character after myself but it was the closest way I could to an adventure. But I couldn't help smiling when I saw myself. I looked just like her, down to the last detail.

Blue fur, blue yes, long eyelashes, a white T-shirt with a loose yellow turtleneck collar, short sky blue sleeves, a sky blue heart decorating the middle, blue jeans, and orange red sneakers. I couldn't help but crack a smile, as a thought came to mind.

"I wonder…" I whispered and reached into my pocket. "No, I should have known."

I thought the Black Chaos Emerald was there. I knew there wasn't such a thing but I tried anyway. In my stories, it only allowed Shelby the Hedgehog to use it anyone else would be thrown across the room from a sudden blast of Chaos Energy or it just wouldn't work at all. With it, she could perform Chaos Control and only in extreme emergencies would she resort to that or Chaos Blast because they tired her out a great deal. With it, combined with the other seven Chaos Emeralds, she could do anything. But when needed, she would command the emerald to aid Sonic and the others to help them.

"Shelby, are you alright dear?" Rosie called.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said as I walked out.

"Well, Sonic will be happy to hear that." Rosie said.

"Yeah, where is he anyway?" I asked.

"Robotnik came after a while but Sonic and the others managed to send him on his way." Rosie explained.

"That's good." I sighed.

"Yes but that was an hour ago. I think Sonic went somewhere after that." Rosie said.

"Did he say where?" I asked.

"Not a word." Rosie sighed before saying, "Sometimes I worry about him."

"Don't worry Rosie, if Sonic can survive a Doomsday weapon, I'm pretty sure he can survive anything." I said with a smile but I knew it wasn't true.

'The only thing he can't survive is that monster, Mephiles.' I thought bitterly. 'At least he's gone forever now.'

"Something on your mind dear?" Rosie asked.

I opened my mouth to answer but I was cut off…by a sonic boom.

"Oh, there's Sonic." Rosie said.

The door opened quickly, showing the blue hedgehog.

"Oh, Shell, you're awake." Sonic said.

"Yeah, is something wrong?" I asked.

"No, I just thought you might like some of these." Sonic said and held up a bouquet of flowers that were each a color of the rainbow with five round petals. I recognized them from one place: Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Mobisia Marvelosa Marigoldias? Sonic, how did you…"

I stopped talking when I saw that he was a real mess. He had slobber, exotic plants, and some of them were burnt, all over him.

"Sonic, did you go into a jungle to get these?" I asked.

"Well they do only grow one place in the entire world." He shrugged.

"You didn't have to-"

"But I wanted to. It's a get well present."

I couldn't help but blush Sonic was just a big sweet heart.

"Sonic, you're sweet." I managed to get out.

I could have sworn that I saw him blushing as well.

"Did everyone make it out okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, Charmy hit his head on some but other then that." Sonic said.

"That's good." I said.

"I better go check up on the others." Sonic said, getting up. "You might wanna get some more rest."

"I'm fine." I said, getting up and walking to the door.

"I'm serious, you should get back in bed." Sonic said, following me.

The whole time I was searching for the exit, Sonic was trying to get me back into bed.

"I wouldn't go outside if I were you." Sonic said as I reached for the door that led outside.

"Why not?" I asked, opening the door.

**BIG mistake!**

The second I turned to looked outside I was blinded with flashes.

"My eyes!" I cried, shielding them.

I looked beyond them to see the press reports of all kinds asking all sorts of questions, coming from all directions.

"Miss Hedgehog, how did you manage to survive that fall from before?" One asked. "Miss Hedgehog, is it true that you had escaped from the doctor's base previously but returned when you learned what would happen in Knothole?" Another asked. "Is it true that you are Sonic the Hedgehog's cousin?" A third asked. The next question took me off guard: "Is it true that you are Sonic's new girlfriend?" That did it.

"G-G-G-Girlfriend?" I choked.

That was too much. I started walking backwards, but they just closed in more. I wasn't going to be able to get away at this rate.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone stopped to look behind me.

"Sonic?" I whispered.

"Where were you raised? A kennel? Back off!" Sonic ordered the reporters.

However, his plan backfired, terribly.

The reporters were now swarming him for info. They were talking so much, so fast that I could barely tell who was saying what. If we were to get out of there, we'd need a way to lose the reporters.

"Oh look! It's his majesty: King Acorn!" I cried, pointing behind the reporters.

They turned around in a heartbeat. A heartbeat was all I needed. I grabbed Sonic, ducked back into the medical hut, and slammed the door behind us.

"Sonic, the next time there are reporters outside, just tell me." I told him.

"Will do." Sonic said.

"What in the world is going on here?" Rosie asked.

"Reporters looking for interviews." I panted. "Is there a back way out of here?"

"I'm afraid not." Rosie said.

"Terrific." I groaned.

"Man, now what?" Sonic asked.

My sight then landed on a leather jacket hanging on a coat rack, a dress, a baby blanket, and a hedgehog baby doll.

"I think I have an idea." I smirked. "Think you're up to it Sonic?"

"What have you got in mind?"

"Okay, get this…" I then whispered my plan into his ear.

---

The doors to the Medical Hut slowly opened and the reporters got ready.

"Yo, what's going on?"

They were hedgehogs and they were blue but not the ones they wanted. The male wore a brown leather jacket, jeans and dark sunglasses over his eyes, with his arm around the female, who wore a blue dress, and in her arms, a bundle of blankets.

"Well, are you gonna get out of the way or what? I've gotta get my new daughter home don't I?" The male demanded in a surfer accent.

The reporters quickly made a path, seeing as to how they didn't want to disturb a baby.

"That's more like it." The male said, as he led the female through the crowd.

"Wait, how do we know you're not Sonic and the girl in disguise?" One of the reporters demanded.

"You're looking for those two? They went out the back." The male said.

The reporters wasted no time. They ran around the building in a heartbeat.

---

"Okay run." I said, dropping the accent.

Sonic and I broke into an all out sprint. Once we were a good twenty yards away, we ditched the costumes and stopped.

"Nice work, Shell. The accent was a nice touch." Sonic said.

"It was easy, I can make my voice sound like a lot of your friends from all sorts of series." I shrugged.

"Cool, who was that anyway?" Sonic asked.

"Manic the Hedgehog, from one of my favorites: Sonic Underground." I answered.

I noticed that Sonic shivered when I said "Manic" and "Sonic Underground". I knew the Archie Sonic had gone to that plain of reality in Crossover Chaos A.K.A. Sonic Super Special #10.

"Sonic, something wrong?" I asked.

"No, why do you ask?" Sonic replied in a shaky voice.

"You're shivering."

Sonic looked at me for a second.

"What were we talking about?" He asked extremely quickly.

"Nice try, Chicken Little." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Chicken what?" Sonic asked.

"Never mind." I replied.

"Aunt Shelby!"

"Huh, Tails?"

I looked behind me to see Tails come running.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" Tails said. "King Acorn wants to see you right away!"

That hit a cord.

"M-Me?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, he said it was important." Tails continued.

"O-Okay." I said, nervously.

"I'll catch you guys later, there's something I need to do." Sonic said and took off.

"Shelby, is every Sonic on your planet like that?" Tails asked as we started walking.

"No, some are, others sometimes are, but some would never be like that." I answered.

"Like which ones?" Tails asked.

"Well, most of the time the Sonic from the AoStH series is funny."

"Funny?"

"It was the first TV show, a great comedy if you ask me."

"What else is there?"

"Well, there's the Fleetway Sonic."

"Fleetway?"

"A comic book series, in that one, Sonic is a tad mean spirited. He calls you Pixel-Brain, but only to keep you safe from Robotnik."

"How would that keep me save?" Tails asked.

"Robotnik wouldn't kidnap you kill you if he thought it wouldn't put a dent in Sonic's spirit if he killed you. It's a clever plan, really."

"Wow, you're right. Did Sally come up with that?"

"Well, Sally isn't quite the same in that series and before you ask me how, don't."

"Okay, what about the others?"

"Well, the Sonic X, Sonic is normally quiet, and either sun bathing or sleeping on the roof. And no matter what, he always comes when he's needed most. He usually needs his privacy, and you don't know where he is half the time. But it doesn't matter where he is, because he's always able to find those in need, no matter where he goes. And if he doesn't find trouble, it'll find him, if not his friends will."

"Am I in Sonic X?"

"Of course you are, Sweetie. You pilot the X Tornado!"

"The X Tornado?"

"You're greatest plane EVER! It can also shoot out the Rings in that series, which are very small, and give Sonic a HUGE power boost. And in season three you were the one who created the Blue Typhoon, a huge, and I mean HUGE, battleship that could go out into Space!"

"They went into Space?"

"Yeah, to stop the Metarex, a race of evil robots who were out to put the galaxy under one rule, theirs'. The leader, Dark Oak, had fought Super Sonic for the Chaos Emeralds. Super Sonic gave everything he had but it still wasn't enough. So he did the first he could think of: get rid of the Chaos Emeralds. He sent them to the farthest corners of the galaxy, keeping them away from Dark Oak."

"Dark Oak. Strange name."

"Trust me, if you knew the whole story, it wouldn't be all that strange. And it was thanks to Cosmo some of the mystery was unraveled."

"Cosmo?"

"The first Plant Hybrid in any of the series. I have a picture of her in my backpack if you wanna see her."

"Why would I?"

"Well, in Sonic X, you two liked each other."

"What about Fiona?"

"She's not even in Sonic X."

"Oh."

"But if you ask me, Cosmo is WAY better for you. She's the same age, about the same height. She's a really sweet little kid, however…"

"What is it?"

"She gave her life to save the galaxy. Dark Oak was going to make a Planet Egg explode, by putting pressure on it with a powerful gravity field."

"What are Planet Eggs?"

"Planet Eggs are what give a planet the ability to nurture, and sustain live. The Metarex stole the Planet Eggs from countless planets for their plan, without the Planet Egg, a planet slowly loses its life, they just become cold bare rocks, just floating in Space. If a Planet Egg was crushed, then the entire galaxy could be destroyed. Even together Super Sonic and Super Shadow couldn't get past the gravity field. Sonic was willing to be blasted from the Sonic Power Cannon, a laser cannon that shot Sonic out as the laser. However, you were the one who pointed out that they had never done when he Super Sonic so they had no idea what would happen."

"What did happen?"

"It was pointed out that if Sonic was shot at the gravity field the pressure could be too much for his body to take, so there was a chance Sonic wouldn't even survive the attack. Amy was against it at once but Sonic was gonna go through with it. He wasn't going to let them destroy the galaxy, if it would stop them it was worth a chance. Then Cosmo heard her dead mother speak to her. She understood what her purpose was. Using the amulet her mother gave her, Cosmo went through a stunning transformation that allowed her to pass through the gravity field. Her friends meant everything to her that was why she gave everything up to save them. She planted herself on the planet and become the biggest Cherry Blossom Tree I've ever seen. In doing so, she was able to stop Dark Oak for only a moment. She didn't care about what would happen to her and told them to fire the Power Cannon."

"Then what?" Tails asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Sonic returned to the cannon, soon followed by Shadow, making the blast twice as powerful. It took the energy of both the Blue Typhoon and Eggman's ship for this blast. And it was up to you to fire the cannon. At first, he couldn't, but then Cosmo spoke to him, and I quote: Trust me Tails, you have to fire, it's the only way to save all of us. Tails told her he trusted her but she meant a lot to him, and he didn't want to lose her. She then told him that he'd have destroyed the Metarex, and spread the seeds of her clan through the galaxy. With those words of encouragement Tails said and I quote: I believe in you. Your friendship's meant a lotto me, and I wish we had a chance to spend more time together, but I understand that this is the only chance to bring your back. I'm your seeds will a new place to grow and make a new home. Good luck Cosmo, and goodbye."

"Whoa! You sounded just like me there!" Tails said.

"Yeah, I can throw my voice to sound like a few of you guys, really. But that's beside the point. You fired the cannon and it his head on. Cosmo thanked you and said she'd never forget you. And before she disappeared, what's believed to be her spirit came before, and kissed you on the lips."

"Really?"

"Uh huh. Sonic soon turned, with a single white seed, which is believed to be Cosmo. Shadow used Chaos Control to hold the blast in place forever, but Eggman said that it might have been too much for his body to take. The Planet Eggs that the Metarex stole started returning to their planets, were they belonged."

"So we lost two friends to the Metarex?" Tails asked.

"Yeah." I sighed.

"But, why did Cosmo kiss me?"

"Because, you two were in love."

"We were?"

"Yeah, two certain incidents happened, and well, you fell in love. However, neither of you got the chance to tell the other, because of, you know."

"Oh." Tails said sadly. "Well, there's the castle."

The castle was like something out of a fairy tale.

"Nervous?" Tails asked.

"Very nervous." I replied.

"Don't worry, King Acorn is very nice, I'm sure my parents will vouch for you."

"If you say so."

As we got closer, I noticed two very large guards at the gate.

"Allow us passage, King Acorn wants to see her." Tails told them.

They allowed us to enter, but that didn't change the fact that they were staring at me.

"Tails, why is everyone staring at me?" I asked.

"Beats me." He replied.

Tails led me through the halls to the throne room. I was a nervous mess. Not just because I was coming on the, behave of a king, but because I'd probably end up meeting, Tails' rebellious father, Amadeus Prower.

Because of his actions, Tails and Sonic would get into a fight, and as the cover said: Sonic vs Tails: Friends no more.

"Something wrong, Shelby?" Tails asked.

"It's…It's nothing." I said.

I knew I had to say something otherwise…my favorite heroes would become enemies. I knew that if that happen, I might end up in the very middle of it all, being used as a rope in tug-a-war battle. If that happened, I wouldn't know how to side with. It was always like this with me: a fight breaks out and if I choose one side, I'll regret it, but it'll happen no matter whom I sided with.

If I went with Tails, I'd have turned my back on Sonic, the Freedom Fighters, and the entire House of Acorn. And if I sided with them, I'd lose one of my new friends, and possibly, one of my heroes. I wasn't sure if my heart could take it. One side would go with Sonic the other half would go with Tails. It was one of those decisions that you were stuck between a rock and a hard place with no way out.

"There's the throne room." Tails said, breaking me from my thoughts. "You ready?"

"I hope so." I said.

"C'mon then." Tails said and opened the double doors.

The throne room of the castle was HUGE! It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I had ever laid eyes on. I walked a few steps behind Tails, incase I had to do something important I could just copy Tails.

When we were about fifteen feet away from the throne, Tails got down on one knee, and I quickly followed.

"Arise." A male's voice said.

I stood up, to see Sally's older brother, King Elias Acorn. Next to him was his wife holding their child, nearby was his mother, Alicia, and his father, the former king, Maximillian Acorn. Sally was no, where in sight.

"So, you are the girl I have heard so much about from Sonic and Sally. Tell me, is what they say about you true: You being from another world, I mean." Elias said.

"It is." I said, trying to stay calm.

"Yes, I saw you in the Egg Grape Chamber, you were the one who saved Charmy very impressive, if I do say so myself."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"Tell me: What is your name?"

"Shelby, Shelby Workman."

"Yes, now please, step forward."

I did as Elias commanded. He told me to halt when I was near the throne. He turned to his father, who held out a small box. Elias opened it and pulled something out. He then turned to me and I stood up straight.

"On the behave of the Kingdom of Acorn, I award thee this Medal of Honor, for your aid of helping the kingdom in its greatest time of need." Elias proclaimed as he held up a golden medal on a blue ribbon.

He stepped towards me, holding out the medal. I bowed my head, mostly out of respect. Elias placed the medal around my neck and stepped back. I looked up, to see him, smiling proudly.

"Thank you, your majesty." I said, bowing my head again.

"It seems my little Bean wasn't lying about how polite you are." Maximillian said.

Bean was what he called Sally when she was little.

"Amadeus, please lead our guest to the door please, I have something I wish to discuss with my son." Alicia said.

"Of course, your highness." A new voice said.

I looked to see Tails' father, Amadeus.

"Hi Dad." Tails chirped.

"Hello son, it's nice to see you're alright after Robotnik returned." The brown fox said. "Now, is this her?" He gestured towards me.

"Yep, she's the one who helped us all!" Tails said. "Her name's Shelby!"

"Shelby is it? A fine name for such a young woman." Amadeus said, walking towards me. "That was quite an act you did out there, and I must admit, I'm quite impressed. I've never seen anyone charge head first into a fight like that, nor anyone come out alive from that fall."

He extended out his hand. I took it, not taking my eyes off him.

"My name is Amadeus, but if what my son says is true, you already know that." He said.

"Yes, it's true." I said.

"Well then, it is indeed an honor. Now, please follow me." He said, pulling his hand back.

I followed Tails' father, trying my best not to be distracted by the amazing work of the castle.

"First time in a castle?" Tails asked.

"Yes, and I must say: I'm glad that this is my first one." I said.

I looked down to the medal had gotten. I grabbed it and turned it, so I could just what it looked like. On it was a star and inside of it was an acorn. I had truly served the Kingdom of Acorn. It felt like…I can't explain. I don't even think I was feeling anything I was so amazed.

"Wait 'til Sonic sees it, he's gonna flip out!" Tails said.

"Nice to see you two getting along again." I said.

"Why's that?" Tails asked.

"Well, there's been a lot of tension between you two. It's impossible to not notice it. I guess I'm just worried something will happen between you two, that's all."

I wasn't planning on telling them about the fight in issues 178 and 179. But all of this had happened so fast, then maybe it was sooner then I thought, just like it had been earlier.

"Shelby, did the comic books ever show the future?" Amadeus asked.

"Uh, what do you mean?" I asked.

"Do we win this war, or not?" He asked.

"Amadeus, if I told you that, I'd be tampering with space and time. Terrible things happen if someone does that. Telling you could very possibly change the entire future. Or if someone were to go into the past, they could end up messing up the present to a degree." I explained.

"Oh really, and how do you know this?"

"Trust me, I've seen this sort things before, other then in Sonic the Hedgehog series. Go into the past, you could end up sending the present into an all out war!"

"Really, could you give me an example?"

"Okay, say-Wait a minute." I stopped dryly. "Nice try."

"Worth a shot." Amadeus shrugged.

"What was worth a shot?" Tails asked.

"Your dad was trying to get me to tell about the future." I simply explained.

"Dad!" Tails said.

"I was just curious." Amadeus implied.

"Sorry, but you'll have to wait, just like everyone else." I said.

Amadeus chuckled and continued leading us outside. Once there, I looked out from the hill Nicole had placed the castle on. I suddenly felt sad.

"Something wrong, Aunt Shelby?' Tails asked.

"It's just, New Mobotropolis reminds me of my home. A quiet, peacefully place, full of plants and people you know, just like home. Just like Amherst."

"Is that the name of your hometown?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Sally once told me that, in ancient times, 'Amherst' meant: peaceful home."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Hm. Suits my town perfectly, except at night."

"Why's that?"

"Because Amherst is located next to a city call Lorain, and there, it's just a mess of a town. Guns are as common as cell phones, and they're shown just as often. People say that it's worth fighting for, but from what I've seen, it's one of the lowest places you could fall."

"Why's it like that?"

"Dunno, but from what I can tell, it's somehow tied to the steel mills. They still dive me the creeps. Sometimes I can't tell which is worse: Robotropolis or Lorain."

Tails nodded.

"But you know, I think I'm going to like living in New Mobotropolis, while I'm here anyway."

"Yeah, I bet you'll like it too." Tails agreed.


	15. Wings and Swings

**Chapter fifteen: Wings and Swings**

I was walking alone in New Mobotropolis. Tails had taken off somewhere, probably to see Rotor, who had hurt his back during the attack to save Tails. A boulder was falling and Rotor had pushed him out of the way, allowing it to fall on him, only seconds before he was captured. Tails was probably worried about him, and I couldn't blame him.

"Wonder where everyone went." I wondered.

POOF! POOF! POOF!

"AH!" I cried out.

The press. Typical. Everyone took cover so they wouldn't go blind from all the cameras. Like before, they were shooting out questions, but I guess that was to be expected. The girl who came out of no-where, suddenly saving everyone? It was one HUGE scoop! And like before, I was asked the same questions: Was I related to Sonic in anyway, was I his new girlfriend and all that.

'Man, how do I get myself into these things?' I thought, shielding my eyes. 'Someone get me out of here!'

My wish was granted but not exactly how I had expected, same for the green hedgehog who had come along.

A flash of green light scooped me up and out of the crowd. It took me a few seconds before I understood what was really going on I was being carried by someone at super sonic speeds. My exposed arms told me whoever it was, was wearing a leather jacket. I knew only one Sonic character that could run so fast and wore a leather jacket. I looked up at his face, to be certain.

I was dead right.

"SCOURGE!" I cried, out of surprise more then fear.

"What, you were expecting prince charming?" He asked, showing his sharp teeth.

"Let me go!" I cried, starting to thrash around.

"Take it easy, baby. I'm not gonna hurt 'cha." He said.

"Yeah right! NOW LET ME DOWN!" I demanded.

"Aw c'mon, don't be like that." Scourge said, finally stopping.

"LET ME GO!" I yelled again, making him drop me.

"What's the matter? Sacred I'll hurt 'cha?" He asked, grinning widely.

"No, I just don't hang out with jerks like you!" I snapped loudly, dusting myself off as I yelled.

I then noticed that he was circling me, giving me a strange look.

"Something on your mind?" I asked.

'As if you have one!' I then thought cruelly.

"Yeah, I'm thinking that I like what I see." He grinned.

"That better not mean what I think it means." I growled.

"Oh, it does." He grinned widely, showing me his teeth again.

"What about Fiona? Aren't you liking her?" I asked bitterly.

"I'm liking you too." He then licked his lips.

"Well, I'm not liking you!" I snapped, grabbed a handful of dirt, and threw it in his face.

"WHOA!" Scourge covered his face.

I scrambled to my feet and made a break for it.

---

Scourge wiped the dirt from his eyes and looked around.

"You missed her." A voice said.

"Give me a break, Fiona." The green hedgehog snarled.

"You know the doctor isn't going to like this." The red fox said, coming out from behind a tree.

"Ah, that cranky old echidna can get her if he wants, but I want to know why, though." Scourge said.

"According to him, she knows everything and anything about Sonic and his little friends." Fiona informed.

"Let me guess: He wants to suck every little bit of info out of her head for a weakness!" Scourge said, starting to become manic.

"Bingo." Fiona said.

"Then let me at her!" Scourge cried, and ran after the blue hedgehog.

---

"Oh man!" I cried, looking over my shoulder. "That green maniac is headed right this way!"

If Scourge caught me, I could pretty much kiss my chances of going home good-bye!

'C'mon Workman, think!' I thought.

Turns out I didn't have to come up with something, because a few seconds later, I was flying through the air, held up by someone behind me.

"You okay, kid?" An all too familiar voice asked.

"Rouge!" I cried before looking over my shoulder.

"Scourge giving you trouble, is he?" The albino bat asked.

"You could say that." I answered.

"Figures, he's always out for only himself." I noticed a hint of annoyance in her voice and quite frankly, I couldn't blame her.

"Yeah, he's such a womanizer." I agreed.

"Oh, so you know about the time he flirted with all of us girls?" Rouge asked, somewhat surprised.

"Oh yeah." I nodded. "If anyone tried that with me…"

"Can't finish?" Rouge asked.

"Well, sort of…" I looked down, ashamed,

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I could probably kick Scourge's butt…only, I'm not really sure that I could…"

"What do you mean?"

"I know martial arts, but it's only to be used as a self-defense, and I've never had to do that, we're not even allowed to spar at my school so I'm not sure if I could bring myself to fight." I admitted.

"Oh, I get it, you're nervous about fighting." Rouge said.

"Yeah, basically."

"Don't worry, everyone is nervous their first time."

"But that's not quite it. I mean, I'm willing to fight the guys in school I could probably beat them if I really wanted to, even though most of them are much bigger then myself, I might even be able to land someone in a hospital, if I were really mad. So I'm usually cocky when someone in my school is looking for a fight even though I'm only three quarters their size, but I'm almost as big as Scourge and, for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to fight him."

"Don't worry, you're just nervous." Rouge assured. "To tell you the truth, I was the same way when I first fought Knuckles."

"You were?"

"Yeah, I only managed to hide it because I used my cockiness as a cover."

"I see…"

Rouge gently landed near a deserted area of the new city, surrounded by nature.

"We should be safe here for the time being." Rouge said, looking around before sitting on a nearby rock.

I merely nodded my head. Minutes slowly passed, I mostly watched the clouds roll by, thinking…

"Something on your mind?" Rouge asked.

I looked over to her, noticing that she was messing around with a small emerald in her hand.

"Rouge…" I started. "…Why did you tell me that you were nervous about your first fight with Knuckles?"

"Oh, is that all?" Rouge asked, cockily. "Huh, to tell you the truth, I don't know myself. Guess it was just because of…"

"Because of what?"

"Your eyes, there's something about them, they told me I could trust you with this secret before I even knew it."

"My…eyes?"

"Yeah. They have a sort of…"fire" in them. But it's not exactly a fire but something else, something I can't put to words."

I blinked a few times, amazed. Were my eyes really all that special?

"And, I also notice," Rouge continued. "That they have something more valuable then jewels in them…as well."

She spoke with the same softness that she had in the end credits of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. I could only wonder what had come over her, considering that the Rouge from the Archie Comic books was a force to be serious with. She could beat anyone to any treasure, both ancient, and illegal. She could also single handedly beat Fiona Fox, Bean the Dynamite, and Bark the Polar Bear, and she had done such in an illegal fighting tournament. She was also a flirt that helped her get what she wanted, even from Scourge.

"Is that…the emerald Scourge gave you…when he impersonated Sonic?" I asked, pointing to the jewel she was fingering.

"Yeah, I still can't believe that scum tricked us all." Rouge said.

"The only reason he tricked you was because he's a flirt, he knew how to play on your heart strings. He somehow knew just what it took it make you fall for him, the same for the others."

"Really…" Rouge was silent for a minute. "What does it take for you?"

That made me blush!

"W-W-What do you mean?" I stammered.

"What does it take to play YOUR "heart strings"?" Rouge asked.

I didn't dare say anything.

"Well?"

I sighed before saying,

"I've never really been with anyone. I've always been sort of a loner. No guy has ever really done it for me. They're always bragging about they're latest girlfriend, like they're some sort of trophy, heck, my eleven-year-old brother's the same way, and he actually had eleven girlfriends by his eleventh birthday!"

"Really…"

"Yeah, if I ever did find a guy, I want him to be true, someone who would stay by my side, no matter what. If he were to die, I would remain single, so, that if there, really is a Heaven, I'd be with him, forever and ever and the other way around."

"Very romantic." Rouge commented.

"Yeah, I guess." I shrugged.

I could swear I heard Rouge chuckle slightly, but I barely noticed. Something else had caught my attention. There was a sort of creaking sound, like an old swing blowing in the wind.

"Rouge, do you hear that?" I asked.

"Hear what?" She asked.

"That creaking sound, hear it?"

There was a moment of silence before Rouge responded.

"Yeah, I hear it."

"What is that?" I wondered aloud.

"Probably that." Rouge then pointed behind me.

When I looked, I was in for a surprise. It was a large tree about fifty feet away, and hanging from one of its many branches was an old wooden swing, held up by large pieces of rope. I blinked a few times before I got up and started walking over to it.

As I did, I could see something else play before my eyes, like a daydream or…a memory.

---

"No fair Sonic, I can't run as fast you!" A tiny blue female hedgehog cried as she ran up to the tree.

The fire-year-old male hedgehog replied with,

"You're just slow!"

"No, you're just too fast!" The other said.

"Says you!" Sonic laughed and got behind the old swing. "C'mon, I'll push you!"

The other hedgehog a four-year-old female, climbed onto the swing and held on tightly. The younger Sonic started pushing the other hedgehog on the swing, and she soon started giggling as the wind ran through her blue fur.

"Higher Sonic, higher!" She laughed.

"Okay!" He said, and pushed her as hard as he could.

After a few more swings, the female started singing.

Every evening

every dawn,

you watch over me

like the moon in the night.

Every evening

and every dawn,

do you promise me you'll be my

guiding star?

This went on for another minute before the swing finally came to a stop.

"You get on and I'll push you!" The female said as she jumped off the swing.

Before Sonic could get on, a strong gust of wind blew, sending the petals of the cherry blossoms into the air, causing the two to giggle.

"Sonic, let's come back here someday! We can bring the others!" The female said.

"Yeah, think you can bring your brother?" Sonic asked.

"Mama says he's still too small to go out and play in the backyard yet."

"Oh well, c'mon." Sonic said as he climbed onto the swing.

The tiny female ran behind him and started pushing.

---

There was a flash of light in my mind and the scene in my mind was gone. I had been so focused in it that I hadn't noticed that I had walked right up to the tree. Unlike the on in my mind, this one wasn't in bloom.

"Something wrong?" Rouge asked.

"It…It's nothing." I barely said.

"Whatever."

I just continued staring at the old tree, and I couldn't help wondering why I was. I slowly walked over to the old swing, and placed my hand on it. There was something familiar about it.

"I must be imagining it." I whispered quietly.

"C'mon, the others will start worrying about you." Rouge said, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah." I sadly nodded.

Rouge carefully scooped me into her arms, so I'd more comfortable this time.

"Rouge?" I asked after a while.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know anything about that tree?" I asked, pointing to it.

"Only a little. It hasn't bloomed any Cherry Blossoms in years, and no one can figure out why. There's nothing wrong with it but it still won't bloom."

I nodded a little, somewhat confused.

After nearly ten seconds of flying, I felt something land softly on my cheek. Rouge wasn't paying attention, so I took it off my cheek. It was a pedal, a Cherry Blossom pedal to be exact. I looked around. There was only that single Cherry Blossom tree. Something told me, that before this was over, that tree would be in bloom again.


	16. My Worse Nightmare: Sonic VS Tails

**Chapter**** sixteen: My Worst Nightmare: Sonic VS Tails**

I sighed, looking over the wall that protected New Mobotropolis. The sun was setting over the horizon and for some reason I was watching it.

"Enjoying the view?"

I looked over my shoulder to the sound voice, and smiled at who it was.

"Hey Sonic."

"Something up?" Sonic asked, walking closer.

"Just getting my first good view of a sunset." I replied sadly.

"What you mean?" Sonic asked, now standing next to me.

He looked much taller then me since I was sitting on the ground, hunched over and my arms over my knees.

"Well, where I live, there's a hill on my street, I live at the very base, and there's a bunch of woods, it's to the west, and kind of hides the sunset."

Sonic nodded his head, interested.

"I'd rather it be the way it was in the book, The Outsiders, that way, I could see it clear as day. Maybe, even the stars too."

"The stars?" Sonic asked, looking down at me.

"Yeah, on one side of my town, there's a BUNCH of stores, with street lights in the parking lots, car lights, and such, even the highway runs through it. And on the other side is a city, which are lit twenty-four seven. My town even has some streetlights, not as many as the city, but with all of those lights put together, you can barely see the stars at all, usually less then twenty, depending on where you're looking. Most of them are so dull that you can barely see them, the only thing you really have a chance at seeing is the moon."

Sonic remained quiet for a minute before saying,

"You know, you can see the moon here, even during the day, because it's so clear."

"Yeah, the same back home as well." I informed him. "Usually it's only a small white sliver, but you can still see it, all the same."

"Yeah, it's kind of weird."

I smiled softly at Sonic. It was hard to believe that some time soon he would be fighting his best friend.

'Cosmo was right.' I thought, letting a calm yet happy feeling flow through me. 'Sonic and his friends ARE very special, because they can make friends with just about anyone. Having Sonic here, makes me feel, not so alone anymore.'

I heard Sonic move a bit, and was soon sitting right next to me.

"Shelby, what was your home town like, you know, where you grew up?"

"Well, it was somewhat like Knothole was." I answered, trying to put it to words.

"Do you wanna go back?" Sonic asked, in an almost sad voice.

"Well my family's there and my few friends that I have. I have to go back."

"But do you want to leave?"

"Hm…Well, I'm happy here, happier then ever was there."

"Why's that?"

"…I'm different from everyone else at my school. We all have A.D.D., A.D.H.D. or something of the like. I have A.D.D., so I'm calmer then some, but I'm more prone to emotional release to emotions like anger and sadness, so they all pick on me."

"Don't your friends do anything?"

"I have hardly any friends there. Nick is the only one I really hang around, but he's much softer then the others boys, and I sometimes have to stick up for him. And with hardly any girls in the school, I'm mostly out to defend myself. There's one other girl in my class but we don't usually hang around each other because she's more of a valley girl then I could ever be. She talks very fast, and hardly anyone picks on her."

"What about the teachers?"

"The guys get small punishments but they don't seem to learn their lesson. One off them, Chad Boyd, was actually arrested, or so he says but I'm not surprised with how he acts. He's one of the guys who picks on me all the time. The other is Brandon Witfeild, and they never stop."

"What do they do?"

I paused before responding.

"There was a school shooting not too far away from where I go to school. Our homeroom teacher asked us to write a paper about how it made us feel. I wrote that things like that are chemical reactions, usually the ones that do the shooting, are kids who were picked on and bullied, like me. It's usually out of revenge, or they think that punishments given to the bullies weren't enough. I also included some lyrics from one of my favorite songs that relates to it."

"What are the lyrics?"

I paused again before singing them, exactly as I wrote them.

"No one sits with him, he doesn't fit in.

But we feel like we do when we make fun of him

'Cause you want to belong,

Do you go along?

'Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong.

It's not that you hate him or want him to die,

But maybe he goes home and thinks suicide.

Or he comes back to school with a gun at his side.

Any kindness from you might have saved his life."

I paused again, because these next lines related to me a lot.

"No one talks to her, she feels so alone.

She's in too much pain to survive on her own.

The hurt she can't handle overflows to a knife.

She writes on her arm,

'Wants to give up her life'.

Each day she goes on is a day that she's brave,

Fight the lie that giving up is the way,

Each moment of courage her own life she saves,

When she throws the pills out, a hero is made."

I paused again to wipe a tear from my eye, trying not to cry and continued.

"No one talks to him about how he lives.

He thinks that the choices he makes are just his.

Doesn't know he's a leader with the way he behaves,

And others will follow the choices he's made.

He lives on the edge, he's old enough to decided.

His brother who wants to be him is just nine.

He can do what he wants, because it's his right.

The choices he makes change a nine-year-old's life."

Another pause, and Sonic put his hand on my back before I continued.

"Little Mikey D. was the one in class who everyday got brutally harassed.

This went on for years,

Until he decided that never again

Would he shed another tear.

So he walked through the door, grabbed the four-four out of his father's dresser drawer,

And said, 'I can't take life no more.'

And like that, life can be lost.

But this ain't even about that, all of us just sat back and watched it happen.

Thinkin' it's not my responsibility to solve a problem that isn't about me.

This is our problem.

This is just one of the daily scenarios which we choose to close out eyes,

Instead of doing the right thing.

If we make a choice

To be the voice

For those who won't speak up for themselves,

How many lives will be saved, changed, rearranged?"

I finished with a sigh.

"What happens after that?" Sonic asked.

"Well, I read mine to the class, and then Brandon said that he wasn't comfortable around me any more. I ignored that, but when he read, it got under my skin. He said that, that the gun man deserved to die, and that people who kill themselves are idiots."

"So why are you sore about it?"

I looked to the ground, ashamed, but I finally answered.

"I'm…slightly suicidal." I said, now picking at the grass beneath me.

"You're what?" Sonic asked in surprise.

I looked away, feeling the tears build up.

"Do they know about this?"

"Yeah right, like I want them to know that of all things. It'll only get worse with comments like: Go kill yourself, and: I got a knife for you."

"Do the teachers know?"

I shook my head.

"Do your parents at least know?"

"No." I said.

"Why don't you tell them. You must trust them at least."

"Oh, I trust them…I trust them to tell the school board, and them to tell the teachers, and then someone will either over hear them talking about it, or one of the teachers will announce it in an attempt to stop it, but to have backfire."

"So no one knows?"

"Other then you and me, no."

"It's not fair. Just because you're different doesn't mean it's your fault."

"But that's what it means to be different: Nobody trusts you, you're always the first one to be blamed, and it is always, always your fault!" I said so harshly that it even surprised myself.

"Then why do you want to go back?"

"It's not so much as a 'want' as a 'have to'."

"What do you mean?"

"Sonic, all of your enemies would jump out of their skin if they ever found out everything I knew. I have no idea as to how powerful most of them are. At least one of them may have the power to force me to tell the truth, and use that information to hurt you, or one of the others. I have to go back before any of that happens, otherwise, I'd never forgive myself if any of you got hurt."

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.

"If someone, like say Mammoth Mogul, were to get any information out of me, he could use it against you."

There was a long silence. I could only wonder what he was thinking.

"C'mon, it's getting late." Sonic suddenly said, standing up.

I nodded my head once, stood up, and followed him down the dirt path to his home. However, I was unaware of the turmoil that was all over.

---

Tails was stomping through town, tears starting to sing his eyes. This day was going from bad, to worse. He was sure that his face looked horrible he was so mad.

"I can't believe he said that!" Tails hissed under his breath. "Of all the stubborn, arrogant, naïve, little- AAAAARRRRRGGGGGG!"

Tails reached down, picked up a rock and threw it as hard as he could. It crashed loudly somewhere in some trashcans nearby. Despite that, Tails was still extremely upset.

"I see you're upset about something." A voice said.

It was completely new to Tails, so he never suspected the danger that he was walking right into.

"Who's there?" He asked.

"…A friend."

A dark figure slinked out of the shadows glowing green eyes were all that could be seen.

"Who are you?" Tails asked again.

"My name is of no importance." The figure said darkly. "Now, tell me: What is troubling you?"

Tails was so upset, that he just burst out, and told him everything at once. It all came like a waterfall, but somehow the stranger understood it all.

"I see." He said darkly. "You know, I think I might just be able to help you."

"How?" Tails spat harshly.

If Tails could see his face, he'd have seen a smirk curl its way onto the stranger's face.

"I was hoping you'd ask that." He grinned.

Tails watched as the figure slowly approached, but he still couldn't see a thing.

"This is what you have to do…"

Not another soul could hear the dark figure's voice other then Tails. Had anyone been watching, they would have noticed a black mist coming from the stranger, and slowly binding Tails. The young fox never suspected a thing…

---

I smiled as I watched Sonic strum his guitar. He was much better then I had ever expected.

"YEAH!" He cried as he finished a song with a power-slide.

"That was great, Sonic!" I happily said, jumping from his bed.

"Think so?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, you're much better then I am, I can tell ya that." I replied.

"Oh, you play?"

"Some." I said, blushing.

"How long have you been playing?"

I thought for a moment, trying to sum it all up.

"I'd have to say about two and a half years."

"You must be good." Sonic said, sitting on his bed.

"I could be better though. Compared to you, I'm just a beginner."

"Well I wanna hear." Sonic then held the guitar in my direction.

"Alright." I said, grabbing the guitar by the neck.

I sat back down on the bed and placed the guitar on my right leg. I carefully looked at the second fret as I placed my middle finger on the sixth and fifth strings. I then began to play those two at fast pace, getting in eight strokes in four beats. I then did the same thing on the fifth fret, but I slid my fingers down the strings, rather then lift them back up. I then slid my fingers to the seventh fret, and then the tenth, playing the same two strings the whole time. I then returned to where I started, but instead of going to the fifth, my fingers went down to the third fret, then I continued to the seventh fret, to the tenth, and I was done.

Sonic whistled before saying, "You're pretty good."

"Thanks." I said, handing him back the guitar.

"What song was that?"

"This Machine, theme of Team Dark from Sonic Heroes." I proudly stated.

"Whoa, you can really play one of the theme songs?" Sonic asked in shock.

"Well not the melody, but I can if I were to play it in a concert." I said, almost sure that I was blushing.

"So who all's on that "Team"?" Sonic asked, placing the guitar back on its stand.

"Shadow, Rouge, and E-123, Omega." I told him with no hesitation.

"Omega?" Sonic asked.

"The last of the E-series in the video games, I'm not all too sure that he's here though." I answered.

"So why'd you learn that song and none of the others?"

"I was only playing for a year when I learned that song, it was the easiest. The others are harder, I'm not that advanced yet."

"I see." Sonic said. "So, where do you suppose it'll take you?"

"Depends on what you mean by that." I said, not quite getting it.

"I mean, do you think you'll have a future with music?" Sonic said, sitting on the bed.

"I'm not sure. I could never come up with a song if my life depended on it." I said, almost certain I was now blushing.

"I don't think so." Sonic said.

I heard him shift slightly on the bed, and felt something barely touch my fingers. I looked, and saw Sonic's own fingers barely touching my own. My cheeks felt like they were burnt at this point.

"Shelby." Sonic said.

I looked at him, feeling the burning fade.

"I've been thinking about what you said to me earlier, and I've decided that you can tell me anything, and I won't tell a soul. I think you need someone to tell all of this to."

I looked at Sonic in surprise. I couldn't hold myself back. I broke out crying into his arms. He carefully stroked my head. He was soft to the touch and yet he was strong.

"I'll be your secret keeper, alright?" Sonic asked, lifting up my chin.

I nodded, my eyes still filled with tears.

"I'll only tell someone if I think it's for the best. Like Dr. Quack, he might be able to help you." He said, stroking me some more. "I want to do anything I can for you while you're still here."

"Sonic, if I could, I would stay here. This life is what I've always wanted, but I could never get it. It always seemed like a wild, far off dream, so close yet still out of reach." I said, wiping a tear from my eye. "I've always needed a friend like you, maybe an older brother like you, but it was something I could never reach."

"If you ever need it, I could be a big brother for you when you need it. Just let me know when you need to talk."

Sonic held me close as I continued crying. I knew that I could tell Sonic anything and he would keep for the rest of his life. I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.

---

Sonic wrapped his arm around Shelby, he felt sorry for her, and he didn't want her to go through all that pain again. He stroked her gently. She had fallen asleep, that was no surprise. The whole day had worn everyone down, he was just glad he still had her around.

"Shelby, while you're here, I'll protect you, no matter what." He whispered.

---

An hour had passed since Shelby had fallen asleep, along with most of the population, but some were still active, and these two had big plans.

"Are you sure you should do this, my love?" The female asked him.

"I'm sure, don't worry, we'll get him out." He said in response as he carefully landed her on her feet.

He ran to the door and opened the section near it, allowing him to take apart the security system. His heart was pounding, as was hers, but this wasn't the time to worry about that. He was just about finished when the doors opened, and a certain holographic computer programming stepped out.

"I would advise against trying to break into the prison's- **YOU**!" Nicole cried when she saw the male's face.

She never had the chance to finish her sentence because the male pulled out a wire, causing Nicole to vanish.

"Don't worry," the male said. "I'll protect us."

---

VOOOOSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH! 

I was snapped awake by Sonic running past. I was back on the couch, but I was now sitting up, looking to the door where Sonic had left the tiny hut.

"Man, haven't we had enough "fun" to last for a week today?" I asked myself as I rubbed my eye.

I lied back down to go back to sleep, not really putting much thought into it…that is, until Nicole came.

"SHELBY!"

I snapped my eyes back open. I hadn't even been able to go back to sleep. This had better been important.

"Nicole, it's almost midnight, what do you want?" I asked groggily.

"You have to stop them!" She said, grabbing my shoulders.

"Stop who?" I asked before letting out a yawn.

"Sonic's gone to the detention center, they're trying to break out Amadeus!"

_That_ woke me up!

"WHAT? It's already happened?!" I cried, throwing the blankets from my body and ran to the door to get my shoes.

"What do you mean 'already happened'?" Nicole asked.

"This whole thing was in the comics! It wasn't meant to be so soon!" I said, struggling into my sneakers. "What about the riot? It didn't-"

"Actually, it did. You were with Rouge trying to escape Scourge when it happened." Nicole informed me.

I was cursing every word in the book in my mind as I pulled on my other sneaker.

"I've gotta stop this!" I said, now running out the door.

"Why, what's going to happen?" Nicole asked.

"Exactly! The attack earlier, in the comics Eggman managed to use the Egg Grapes on Charmy before he was saved! For all I know, it'll turn into a bloody battle!"

"I don't quite understand."

"You know something: I understand it just about as much as you do."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now listen: When Elias tells you not to wake his parents, wake Sally up instead, and do it as fast as you possibly can! I don't care how you do it, just get her in there before someone gets seriously hurt!"

"What will you do?"

"I'm going to the prison! I've go to find a way to stop the fight before it begins! And if I'm lucky, Elias and Amadeus won't fight at all!"

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, you may or may not believe me but the comics have shown me everything that's supposed to happen. However, since I arrived, nothing had been as accurate as it should be. Nicole, just let me do this. If I don't, I could never forgive myself."

"Very well then."

And with that said, Nicole faded away, probably going to the castle to warn King Elias.

"I just hope I'm not too late." I whispered under my breath.

The prison was just ahead of me. The gates were still wide open from when Sonic entered most likely.

'Come on Workman, if you don't make it in time, Sonic and Tails may never make up!' I thought.

I took another step when I saw something beneath me. It was the same transport like pad that Nicole had sued to send Mammoth Mogul and his goons to the prison earlier. I smirked.

"Thanks for the lift, Nicole!" I said happily.

And before I knew it, I was in front of a fleet of stairs leading downwards.

"Time to stop something before it begins." I growled and headed down.

However, I was already too late. I saw two figures coming up the stairs.

"Sonic? Tails?" I asked hopefully.

No such luck.

"You!"

"Amadeus! Rosemary!" I snapped.

I didn't even bother thinking before I did what I did. I charged Amadeus and pinned him to the wall.

"Where-are-they?" I demanded.

"Where is who?" He asked.

"Sonic and Tails! Where are they?" I yelled, now thrusting my hand over his throat.

"Release him!" Rosemary snapped.

"Not until one of you spills about where they are!" I snapped again.

There was a long pause.

"They're down the stairs." Rosemary admitted.

"Good." I hissed and dropped Amadeus. "I'll be back for you two later."

And I ran down the stairs to face my worse nightmare: Sonic VS Tails.


	17. The Dark Challenges Light

Chapter seventeen: The Dark Challenges Light

When I made it to the end of the stairs, I could only see Tails, charging someone but I already knew who it was.

"Stop, guys!" I cried but it fell on deaf ears. The cries and taunts of the enemies also didn't help.

"Stop it!" I yelled but no luck. The loud voices wouldn't stop. I knew I had to be as loud as I could, and _THAT_ was pretty loud. I took in a deep breath and yelled,

"STOP IT!"

That gave me the results I wanted. I was trembling with rage as I sniffled back my tears.

"Shelby?" Sonic said in surprise.

"Aunt Shelby!" Tails cried before running behind me. "Stop Sonic, he's trying to hurt me!"

"Nice try, Tails. I already know what's going on." I said darkly.

He looked up at me and gave me an angry but also surprised glare. It hurt more then anything at the moment.

"Please, stop fighting." I begged.

"Shelby, get out of the way! He just helped his dad escape from jail!" Sonic said, throwing his arm to one side.

"I know Sonic!" I yelled.

"Wha?"

"I knew this was going to happen but not so soon."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have believed me?"

Sonic opened his mouth but then closed it back up.

"Exactly!" I said.

Tails then walked out from behind me, looking ready to fight.

"Oh no you don't!" I said sharply before grabbing his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Tails demanded.

"I'm not letting you two fight!" I snapped.

"Let me go!" Tails demanded.

"I'm not letting either of you get hurt!" I said, grabbing Tails around his chest.

"Hold him Shelby! I'll take care of him!" Sonic said and charged.

Sonic was moving too fast for me to push Tails out of the way. I had a split second decision to make and, at the time, it was my only option. I lifted Tails up, barely above the ground, and turned on my heel.

---

Sonic barely saw his new friend turn it was so fast and he was going so fast that there was no way he could stop in time. He was going to hit!

---

Tails looked in surprise as Shelby turned around. He knew with how fast Sonic had been going there was no way for him to stop in time. He was going to hit her instead!

---

All eyes were on the three. Sonic's fists were jammed into the girl's back. She was holding Tails above the ground. There was nothing but silence. Even their enemies were hushed by the sudden yet shocking scene.

---

"Aunt Shelby?" Tails asked in a small voice.

There was a slight grunt.

"Are…Are you okay Tails?" I asked, opening one eye.

"I'm fine, but what about you?"

"As long as you're fine, then I am as well."

"Shelby, get out of the way!" Sonic demanded.

"No Sonic." I sniffled. "I'm not going to run from this."

"See! She's defending me from you!" Tails snapped.

"No." I corrected. "I'm protecting you both."

"Huh?" Sonic asked.

"I can't go on, knowing I just let you two fight like this. I'll be the shield for you both. I'll take all the damage. If either of you fought like this, and I had to witness it, I'd never forgive myself."

"Shelby, this isn't your fault, so you shouldn't get mixed up in this!" Sonic insisted.

"Hey, fifty mobium says Blue Babe gets knocked out by Propeller Butt by the end of the fight!" A certain loud mouth duck said.

"Double on Sonic, he's the one throwing all the hits so far." Mogul said.

"Triple says they chicken out and don't even hurt her more!" Nack said in a teasing tone.

Bark simply nodded.

"You're not helping." Sonic growled.

"Is that a bad thing?" Bean asked.

I had just about lost my patience with that duck.

"Hey! Button the beak, Fruit Loops, or I'm gonna take that thing off your face and put it on backwards!" I dangerously snapped before letting out a groan of pain.

Bean just looked confused but at least it shut him up. I looked over my shoulder at Sonic before grunting. The pain was back.

"Guys, please, don't fight." I begged.

---

Sonic was surprised by the tone in her voice. It sounded really upset. More upset then anything he had ever heard. But that wasn't exactly on his mind at the moment. What was, was that was leaking from the girl's eyes.

Tears.

Had he really hit her that hard? He wasn't sure, but he knew it had to hurt, no matter what. But was it really enough to make her cry? Again, he wasn't sure. His arm began shaking and he carefully removed it from her back.

---

Drip.

Tails looked up.

Drip.

A tear fell right onto his nose. He quickly shook his head and looked. Shelby was crying. Tails could feel his heart pounding. Had that hit seriously hurt her that badly? He, like Sonic, wasn't sure, but he was sure that it was _his_ fault. She had protected him from Sonic's punch, and now she was paying for it. Tails started biting his lips, afraid of what she might do next.

Drip.

Drip.

---

I sank to my knees, made weak by the hit to my back. I could feel the burning of all the eyes in the room fall on me. My grip on Tails loosened greatly, allowing him to slip from my arms easily. I then fell forward, completely unable to move. I wasn't numb, or paralyzed, but the pain was too much to bear. However, it wasn't the pain from Sonic's punch made me fall. To tell you the truth, I had been so focused on saving Tails I hadn't even felt much of it at all. It was my heart that was hurting.

It was breaking.

To see all of this to happen, it was too much for my heart to take. My tears were from the piercing pain in my heart. I could hear the others talking.

"Is she dead?" Bean asked.

"Beats me." Nack replied.

"Looks like I won that bet." Mogul said in a hissing voice.

"HHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Nagus then added.

I could feel Tails' blue eyes fall on me.

"Aunt Shelby? Aunt Shelby?" Tails began shaking me but I couldn't move. The pain was too great.

"Shelby, c'mon get up." Sonic was now shaking me, trying to wake me up. What they didn't know was that I _was_ awake, I just couldn't move.

"I…I think she's gone." Tails said.

"Shelby? Shelby, please don't die." I heard Sonic whisper.

"YOU!" Tails yelled at Sonic.

I heard what sounded like someone throwing a punch but the other person dodged it.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Somehow I knew Tails was pointing at me. "BECAUSE OF **YOU**, I LOST ANOTHER FRIEND THESE LAST FEW WEEKS!"

"YOU'RE CRAZY!" Sonic shot back.

"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!" Tails yelled and attempted to hit Sonic.

I could make out what was going on from the shadows being cast over the wall I was facing. Neither one could land a hit the other somehow managed to dodge it. I twitched my fingers, just to make sure I could still move. I was fine, just needed some time before I could move again. However, Sonic had other ideas.

"I'm taking this outside!" Sonic yelled at Tails and ran out the door.

"GET BACK HERE!" Tails yelled and flew after him.

I knew that if this kept up, someone would end up seriously hurt, in more ways then one. Despite the pain in my chest, I forced myself to stand up. I could hear a few of the villains gasp in awe as I stood, but I didn't care.

"Looks like the "Blue Babe" has yet to fall." Nack said.

"Too bad Speed Cheese and Propeller Butt are gone!" Bean added with a laugh.

I could feel blood trickling out of the wounds on my right arm from before. They had opened up again. I grunted in pain, grabbed my right arm where it was bleeding, and I began to walk towards the stairs that led outside.

"Hey, where ya goin'?" Bean asked.

"To find Sonic and Tails." I told him coldly.

"You do realize by now that there's a greater power at work here, right?" Mogul asked from his cell. "One far greater then even I."

"…"

"Oh, I suppose you don't." Mogul then picked up one of his books and opened it.

"Who is it?" I asked quietly.

"…I believe you've encountered him before. I can tell. I sense it coming from you." Mogul went on reading.

"Who is he?"

"…You've tangled with the Dark and prevailed. His Dark power challenged the light and failed. The sun and the Dark are one and were one and now he is after the Chosen one. That's all I'll say."

I cocked an eyebrow. Strange answer, but knowing Mogul, the answer would be right in front of me.

'You've tangled with the Dark and prevailed. His Dark power challenged the light and failed. The sun and the Dark are one and were one and now he is after the Chosen one. What does it mean? I know Tails is said Chosen one but what about the rest?' I thought. And then, it hit me.

"Oh god." I whispered.

I forgot all about my wounded arm, and took off running as fast as I could possibly go. If I was right, then Sonic could very possibly end up dead.

"Sonic! Tails!" I called into the darkness. "Sonic! Tails! Where are you?"

No response.

I had to find them with only memories from the comic book issue, and quite frankly, that wasn't much. It was guess work, and with no clues, I was pretty much left in the dark.

"Here goes something." I whispered and started running blindly into the trees. "C'mon guys, where are you?"

I pulled one bunch of branches out of my way at a time, trying to find Sonic and Tails.

"Sonic! Tails! Where are you guys?"

---

If anyone had been closer enough, they would have seen the teenage girl's eyes flash bright blue and then turn emerald green, just like her new friend's. When that happened, a new sort of instinct took over, one for speed and danger.

Barely even thinking about it, she jumped into the air, much higher then she had ever gone before. She jumped towards a tree, landed on a branch, jumped again to another branch, and repeated until she reached the top of the tree. When she broke the tree line, her eyes returned to normal

---

What happened next, I'm not all too sure, but the next thing I remembered was standing at the top of a tree. I was over looking a field and there were Sonic and Tails, going at it like a couple of pit bulls but never once landing a hit on the other. I took in a deep breath and yelled,

"STOP IT!"

Once again, it worked.

---

Sonic looked to the tree line, to see a figure standing in the moonlight. She held one arm but other then that, it was clear that she was alive.

---

Tails looked at her, his mouth hanging wide open. He could barely believe his eyes, if not he didn't at all. He could feel a tear building in his eye. She was alive.

---

The same new instinct took over again, and her eyes turned green once again. She jumped from one branch to another, until she was on the ground. Her eyes returned to normal.

---

How in the world I managed to do all of that, I may never know, but it got me to Sonic and Tails in a hurry.

"Shelby, you're alive!"

"Whoa!"

The next thing I knew, they had forgotten all about the fight and were giving me bone-crushing hugs.

"Guys, guys, I can't breathe!" I told them.

"I thought you were dead!" Tails said. "Died of a broken heart!"

"Almost kid, almost but if you two keep going at it like this, I will."

Sonic and Tails shot dirty looks at each other and became tense.

"Now don't both of you start again!" I snapped, grabbing them by the scruffs of their necks.

"But Shelby-" before they could say anything else, I cut them off.

"Listen you two, Mammoth Mogul has informed me that there's a powerful force behind all of this, and I know who it is! Now before you two go at it like wild dogs, might I say who's behind all of this?"

They stared at each other, blinked twice, turned to me sharply and snapped loudly,

"Who?"

I let them go and they looked at me.

"One of the three I hate more then I could _ever_ hate Robotnik." I said, crossing my arms over my chest and closing my eyes.

I could feel a cold presence coming from one of them. He was taking over him. I barely opened my eyes and cast my gaze into their eyes. One pair of eyes was changing, becoming _his_ eyes.

"Who is it?" Sonic asked.

I looked up at Sonic, opened my eyes, dropped my arms, and said the name,

"Mephiles the Dark is controlling Tails."


	18. To Save a Friend

**Chapter eighteen: To Save a Friend**

"Mephiles? Who's that?' Sonic asked.

"The only guy worse then Ro'butt'nik," I hissed dangerously. "He made one appearance in the video games and in _only_ one game but he still did the impossible…"

"And that was what?" Sonic asked.

I paused for a moment as tears built up and then choked out,

"He _killed_ you."

Tails remained quiet as he stared at the ground.

"You're kidding me, right?" Sonic asked.

"I'm not. Mephiles blinded you with a Chaos Emerald and, well…" I didn't dare finish. "But my question is how Mephiles escaped the end of the game."

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked, cocking his eyebrow.

"After being revived, you went into the past to stop Mephiles from being "born". He was originally a sun god but was split in two when the king of the country the sun god, Solaris, watched over tried to control him so he could control _time_ itself and save his wife from her untimely death. It failed, however. These actions caused Solaris to split into Mephiles and the Flames of Disaster AKA Iblis. Even if Mephiles escaped to this dimension, he wouldn't have been born in the first the place. So, how'd ya do it? You couldn't have escaped what Sonic and Elise did, so how are you here?"

Tails was silent for another minute. Then, an all too familiar laugh broke the silence.

"So, you figured me out, huh?"

That voice, I knew it all to well, and even now, to this day, it makes my blood run cold. Take the voice of Mephiles make it a hundred times colder, and evil. His voice at that moment was **MUCH** worse then that. I could feel a shiver run down my spine all the way to my tail, causing it to twitch.

Tails looked up, revealing a horrifying transformation. His muzzle had become so pale that it was the same shade of white that Mephiles' was. His three bangs were now crystal-like the same way Mephiles looked when he transformed into his crystal form, but what scared me the most was his eyes. The white of his eyes were now blood red and his irises were _glowing_ green, just like Mephiles, and they had a look in them that was demonic. I could actually feel him looking into my soul.

"Not that it matters, I will _still_ fulfill this task," the demonic creature said.

"Then released Tails, he is of no use to you!" I snapped, throwing my arm the same way Sonic had done it.

"Oh, not true. For if I remain in this form, you will not _dare_ attack me, in fear that you might harm your precious Chosen One," Mephiles said as if he knew everything.

"His name is Tails!" Sonic stated firmly.

"It does not matter what I call him. You still will not attack me."

I cursed in my mind. He had me there.

"I swear Mephiles, you will _pay_ for this," I hissed as I punched my palm.

"You wouldn't dare harm me, otherwise you friend will feel the blow as well," Mephiles said cockily.

I gulped quietly, but I didn't care if Mephiles saw or not, I just wanted Tails back. I could feel the rage steadily building, until I couldn't hold it in any longer. I charged him headfirst.

"You wouldn't dare harm your friend, would you?" Mephiles asked in surprise.

"Tails won't mind if I hurt him a little if it's to save him!" I yelled and attempted to claw at his face, but he jumped back, landed on his hands, and jumped again, allowing him to land on his feet. I cursed quietly at it.

"Your attempts are futile, you will never land a hit on _me_," Mephilse once again said cockily.

"Hmph, you never could get your own hands dirty, could ya?" I spat.

---

Sonic looked Shelby in surprise. He had no clue that she could be like _that_, she slightly reminded him of Rouge in fact: a fist on her cocked hip, her eyes half closed in a sly fashion, and a bittersweet smile on her face, but something stood out a bit.

Her eyes.

Her pupils were still very clear, but her irises were another story. They were aquamarine blue, the same shade of blue as Rouge's eyes.

'She's been spending too much time with Rouge,' Sonic then thought.

---

At the time, I was clueless as to why I was so calm and not keeping my distance but I'll tell you about that later. At the moment, I felt like I could do anything as long as I played my cards right.

"No matter what, you still wouldn't dare attack me, if fear of harming you precious Chosen One," Mephiles said.

I looked to see Sonic growing tense. I, on the other had, decided to take action. I charged headfirst. I barely heard or noticed anything at the moment. I just wanted Mephiles out of Tails!

"You wouldn't dare!" Mephiles yelled.

"Tails won't mind if I hurt him if it's to save him!" I yelled again.

As I charged, I heard a voice n my head saying,

'Say Soul Cutter!'

'That voice again!' I thought, 'The same one that told me about the Defense Curl!'

It was slightly more clear and easy to hear this time. From the sounds of it, it was a slightly deeper, more mature version of Shadow's voice, if you will. As if he had grown up a little, and he sounded more serious then usual, which usually seemed impossible to me but none of these concepts were on my mind at the moment. What was important was getting to Tails.

'I hope this works!' I thought.

**"SOUL CUTTER!"**

For a moment, the time around me seemed to slow greatly, almost as if someone had put the world in slow motion…or _I_ was going faster then usual. Either way, I needed to find a way to fight Mephiles. I then saw _it_ in my hand. At first I thought I was going to be shocked but I didn't even feel anything. It was like a lightning bolt made of pure energy, it was moving but I barely felt anything. It was like a living creature.

"What is this?" I whispered.

'Use it to save Miles,' the voice in my head told me.

I then looked away from the bolt of lightning and to Mephiles. Boy did I see something! Standing there was Tails but also a transparent Mephiles. They were both standing in the same pose, but there was a _slight_ difference: strange strings were coming from the monster's fingers, like a puppet-master. In other words, Mephiles was the puppet-master and Tails was his puppet!

I had really lost my patience with his guy now! If killing my hero wasn't enough, now he was making him fight with his best friend, and _he_ was pulling all the strings! My grip tightened on the bolt of energy, so much so that I could feel it slowly entering my hand. I could feel something inside of me break.

I charged.

At first, I had no clue as to what I was doing until I was about five feet from them. I did the first thing that came to mind: I slashed at the strings attached to Mephiles' fingers. They snapped at once. Tails' body fell limp, and I quickly caught him in my arms but I wasn't done just yet. Having Tails in my left arm, I slashed at Mephiles with my right hand and punched him as hard as I possibly could, followed by one of my best kicks.

After that last hit, time kicked back up and I felt the heat coming from Tails' body at last. He was alive.

"Whoa, what just happened?" I heard Sonic ask even though my back was to him. Then he noticed Tails in my arms. "TAILS!"

He was at my side in a heartbeat. He placed his hand on the kit's forehead and checked him over as quickly as possible. I understood fully. If my little brother, Matthew, had been in that monster's clutches for any amount of time I'd be in a panic as well.

"He's okay, just passed out," Sonic said before actually looking at me.

"Thank Heavens," I sighed.

Sonic then looked at what was in front of him or rather should I say us.

"WHOA! WHAT _IS_ THAT THING?!" he yelled.

I had forgotten all about Mephiles! I looked up from my fallen friend and gasped. Mephiles was in his crystal-like form, and I let me tell you something: he was scary. Oh, and for the record, _that_ was an understatement! Words can't even start to explain how terrifying he was. He looked a somewhat scary in Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 but the real thing put it to shame! The red and green eyes, when you looked into them, it was as if you were staring at the devil himself. A sort of icy blackness grabbed my heart and tugged. I was terrified. If fear could kill a person, I would have been dead right on the spot. I could barely feel my breath, despite the fact that a sort of coldness now hung heavily in the air, so much so that you could see your breath. I could just barely see the small puff of a cloud, indicating that I was still alive and breathing. The sudden revealing of Mephiles' face somehow made a chill run through the air.

Then, I heard it. Mephiles was laughing.

"Surprised? I thought you knew about me."

I understood at that moment: he was now mocking me. His words didn't really get to me, however, if he went into a certain incident…I'd lose it and most likely run straight into my death.

"Now, I think I shall make you suffer some more!"

I then saw him pull his hand back and I recognized it in less then a second: it was the same attack he had used to kill Sonic! He was going to try and kill Sonic again! Well not this time!

"GET DOWN!" I yelled as I pushed Sonic to the ground, causing him to cry out. I hadn't let Tails go either, so both of them were under me.

Mephiles released the attack. I slammed my eyes shut and pressed Sonic and Tails as close to the ground as possible without smothering them. I could feel the wind pick up by the attack flying over my spines. It had missed us by just a few centimeters. Way too close for comfort!

---

Sonic's eyes widen when he saw the strange energy fly over the girl. She pressed him closer to the ground, in an attempt to make him smaller, and safer. Was that attack meant for him?

Drip.

Sonic turned his gaze from the strange energy and to his friend. Was she…crying?

Drip.

Sniffle.

She WAS crying. She then started whispering.

"I can't lose you again."

Sonic could feel his pupils shrink! What was she talking about? Duh! She was the one who knew about Mephiles killing another version of him. She must have had to see it herself to know that.

"I-I c-can't lose you ag-again!" she shook her head as she said it this time.

The energy finally vanished and Sonic slowly sat up.

---

When Sonic rose, I did as well. I felt so small as I hid my eyes in his chest, trying my best to stop crying. I felt a gloved hand touch the spines on the back of my head. My eyes snapped opened and looked up. Sonic was holding me.

"Hey, it's alright. The beam is gone, you don't have to be scared anymore," Sonic said softly.

"That's not why I'm crying," I confessed. "It wasn't the beam I was scared of. I was scared I would lose you again. I don't wanna relive the nightmare of watching you die again! And if I lost Tails too, I don't know what I'd do!"

"You were…scared for us?" Sonic asked in astonishment.

"Of course!" I nearly yelled. "If you died and I did nothing about it, I'd never forgive myself!"

I gripped the fur on his chest and was practically balling into it.

"How touching, it makes me sick!"

I gasped, my tears suddenly gone. I turned, to see an all too familiar black mist.

"Is that Mephiles?" Sonic asked.

"Yes. Now you see his true face," I told him.

"That's his _what_?"

"The shadow of the corrupt sun god, Solaris."

I could tell Sonic was shocked and I couldn't blame him. Mephiles was a monster that no one could stop. The only way was to go back to the beginning and destroy him from there but I wasn't sure if the Chaos Emeralds here worked the same way as the ones in the game, or if they could send someone into the past. The Emeralds were just so unpredictable.

However, the concept of the Chaos Emeralds wasn't exactly on my mind at the moment because Mephiles went straight up into the air and came back down almost at once. And he was headed…straight…for…US!

"LOOK OUT!" I cried before pushing Sonic out of the way.

When I did, I dropped Tails. Mephiles saw this and made his move. The black and purple mist hit the small fox head on!

"TAILS!" Sonic yelled.

I could only watch in horror as the young fox's body lifted into the air as more of the dark force entered his body. A great wind picked up and I was left trying to keep myself from being blown away.

"TAILS!" I called, hoping to break through to him.

As my bad luck streak would have it, the wind was too loud for me to even hear myself. I could see Sonic on the other side of Tails but I sort of wished I didn't. Maybe Mephiles' dark powers were getting to him or it was the stress that Tails could possibly be gone for good. Whatever it was, I could see his pupils and irises slowly vanish.

'Oh god,' I thought.

His fur was slowly becoming dark and his spines were slowly becoming arched. He was turning into Dark Super Sonic. Remember the icy grip I had on my heart before? Well now it was becoming a whole lot worse. Of all the fears I had in the Sonic series, Dark Super Sonic was the worst. I know it's strange to fear your hero but this was different. When I first saw it in the third season of Sonic X, I could just feel something change. When he transformed, it was like he wasn't Sonic anymore. He was a monster who could barley control himself. In other words, when he transformed, it was like he transformed into a terrible monster. But now, seeing him for real life, to transform into that very creature, I couldn't tell which was worse: facing Tails when Mephiles is controlling him, or watching Sonic turn into Dark Super Sonic.

"I'll teach you a lesson you won't soon forget!" Dark Super Sonic growled.

He then lunged at Tails.

"SONIC, STOP!" I yelled.

I scrambled to my feet and ran, hoping to get between them. If he attacked Mephiles, he'd just be hurting Tails. Having seen what he did in Sonic X, he wouldn't care if Tails was hurt, and may have even attempted to go right through him. I couldn't let that happen. However, the wind was too strong, I was forced back to the ground, holding on for dear life. I looked up to see the dark hedgehog, almost right on top of Tails.

"STOP IT!" I cried, feeling the hot tears in my eyes.

Before I realize what I was doing, I got to my feet and ran. It was only then did I realize how fast I was going. It was like the wind was suddenly gone, but the force was still there and I was overpowering it.

'Just a little closer!' I thought.

---

'I'll kill him. I don't care who he is. I don't care why, but I'll kill him. I don't know anything anymore. All I know is that I have to destroy that one person. I don't care about the risks or about anyone who'll get in my way. I just want to kill him.'

The dark hedgehog's gaze drifted, but only for a second. He saw…someone.

'Huh? Who's that?' he thought.

She seemed, familiar to the hedgehog.

'A girl, wait, why is she so familiar? Do I know her? Wait, there's a name somewhere but I can't remember. What was it?'

A voice then rang in his head.

'Oh, Sonic, they're beautiful!'

That voice. Was it hers?

'Hey Sonic.'

'Yes, it is. And Sonic…that's my name isn't it?'

"SONIC!"

---

"SONIC!" I yelled as I lunged at him.

I wrapped my arms around his chest and didn't let go. Tears were still stinging my eyes as I held him from Tails. There was no way I was letting him harm Tails! His arms fall onto my own, almost relaxed.

"Sonic, are you back to normal now?" I hopefully asked.

"You bet," Sonic smirked and gave me a "thumbs up".

He pulled me closer to him in a tight hug.

"Sonic we have to save Tails!" I said.

"Yeah but how?" he asked.

I looked to see the dark energies still entering the poor fox's body. Slowly, a thought entered my mind.

"The same way I stopped you from hurting him."

I didn't give Sonic any time to ask another question. I was already on the move. I was already running towards Tails. Remember what I said before, about running head first into my death? Well this might as well be it. The winds were harsh and merciless. The wind forced my now pointed ears down to where they were against my head but I was still trudging through it all. It wasn't just my ears that were suffering. The wind was throwing all sorts of rocks and sticks everywhere and as a result, I was getting cut up everywhere. I placed my hand to my cheek when a sharp stone was brushed roughly against it. It would probably start bleeding in a few seconds but I didn't really care at all. I just wanted to get to Tails.

---

Sonic couldn't get any closer to Tails due to the powerful winds and had pinned himself to the ground so he wouldn't fly away. How in the world Shelby had been able to bypass the powerful winds was so far beyond him. However, he knew that she was in pain from the flying objects. The wounds on her arms from before were already bleeding again, even after they were bandaged. This whole thing was causing her to bleeding several places, some he wished weren't. It was possible that she was going to need a few sets of stitches for some of those wounds. Despite the fact that she was getting hurt, she continued to trudge through the blasting winds.

"Gotta help her," he grunted as he struggled to his feet.

---

I tripped, sending myself to the ground. I had to war crawl to get any closer to Tails. The dark energies were still entering his body, as if something was slowing down time so I could get there in time. Whatever it was, I didn't care. I had to get to Tails. I was less then fifteen feet away, nothing at all really. Well, try saying that with winds over fifty mph blowing right in your face, and blowing sticks and rocks at your face. Not fun. Not easy either.

'I'm going to be having braces 'til I'm forty at this rate,' I growled as another rock hit me in the mouth.

The winds were getting stronger. Mephiles was gaining control again. I didn't have any more time to waste. I forgot about the damage the wind would cause me, got to my feet, and ran.

---

Sonic was amazed at this. He couldn't get up in the ridicules winds yet she could.

'If Zonic has anything to do with this, I'm going to give him such a beating,' the hedgehog thought coldly.

---

'Almost there, almost there!' I chanted in my head.

I was just a foot away from Tails, but the winds were extremely strong now. Unlike other storms where the center also known as the "eye" it was the calmest and most safe place to be it was reverse here and now the most dangerous.

"TAILS!" I yelled, "TAILS!"

If I could break through to the real Tails, I might have a chance to save him.

"TAILS! TAILS! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, PLEASE GIVE ME A SIGN!"

As if on cue, the winds died, if only for a second and that second was all I needed. I ran straight to the floating fox, grabbed onto him, hugged him tightly and didn't let go. When I did, the winds became fierce all around us, but it would more then that to make me let go. It only made me hold fast and stronger.

"Mephiles, I know you can hear me! I demanded that you release Tails right NOW!"

The winds grew all the more harsh.

"SHELBY!"

I looked away from Tails and looked at Sonic. He had managed to catch up to me and was right next to me.

"Sonic! We have to break through to Tails!" I said, "The whole reason this happened is because you were going out with Fiona!"

"WHAT?!"

"I'm serious! He doesn't care that she didn't love him, or that fact that she left with Scourge. It's the fact that you went out with her knowing that he liked her!"

"But I did in hopes that he would move on! I didn't want him hurt if he tried asking her out!" Sonic replied.

"I know that and you know that but he doesn't know that!" I said, "You have to tell him that! I don't think he'll listen to me if I said it."

Sonic looked at Tails, almost nervous about saying it. His pride was blocking him from speaking.

"Sonic, as my friend Nick would say: Swallowing your pride won't give you indigestion. So just get past your overgrown ego and tell Tails you're sorry!" I said firmly. Now that I think about it, it may have been a little too firm but I was far too scared to notice or care at the time. Scared that I may lose Tails forever and ever to Mephiles.

"Where did you get that?" Sonic asked, with a strange look on his face that said, 'where on Mobius did you get that line from'.

"I just said it: my friend Nick came up with it, but is this really time to play Twenty Questions?" I asked.

"…You're right," he then said before turning to Tails and said, "Tails, you heard what I said, didn't you?"

No reply.

"Tails please listen to me! I know you heard me! I meant every word of it! I never meant to hurt you! I was still hurting from the breakup with Sally! Fiona was there and I just went with it, like I always do! I'M SORRY!"

Those were the magic words. From Tails' lips came a very small, almost silent,

"Sonic…"

"WHAT THE?!" Mephiles' voice cried.

The dark energies were shot from Tails' body almost like a slingshot. The forced threw Tails to the ground, along with Sonic and myself. I looked to Tails to see him sitting back up. He looked terribly dazed, dizzy, and confused. Then he saw Mephiles.

"Wha-What the?!" he cried.

"Tails!" I said, scrambling to my feet and running to the fox's side.

"Aunt Shelby? Wh-What is that thing?" he asked, pointing at Mephiles.

"You mean you don't remember? Mephiles was controlling you!" I said, almost frantic.

"He was?! He said he'd help me get back at Sonic for what he did!" Tails said.

"Tails, you heard everything, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Tails, listen to me very carefully," I said, placing my hands on his shoulders, "Mephiles attempted to kill Sonic before in the video games, and he's going to try it again here!"

"What?"

"Oh forget it! Just run for it!"

Tails wasted no time. He was gone in only a matter of seconds. With him safely out of the way I turned to Sonic. He was dodging the dark energy, which had now turned on him. I had now had more then enough of this guy! I would later learn that, at that moment, my eyes now had a slight purple hue to them.

"You like picking at the defenseless right Mephiles? Well then why don't you come and get me instead? I'm right here!" I yelled harshly.

"Okay!" the dark voice replied.

It then changed directions and headed for me instead.

"SHELBY!" Sonic cried.

For some reason, I wasn't scared. I was angry. I was angry about almost everything. I was angry that Mephiles escaped from his fate at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2006. I was angry that I hadn't known about the riot earlier. I was angry with Amadeus for starting the riot to begin with. I was angry with Fiona for causing so much heartache towards Sonic and Tails. But mostly, I was angry with myself. I had known this was going to happen and yet I gave no warnings at all. This was, in a way all my fault. But I knew what, or rather, whom I could take it all out on.

Mephiles was less then a foot away from me. All the rage ran through out my body and ended at my now clenched fists. I raised my fist and punched the dark energy with more force then I had ever done before. It sent Mephiles spiraling to the ground and I stomped up to him. Through tightly grit teeth, I growled,

"Get out. If you EVER do something like this again, I'll kill you without an ounce of mercy."

The dark energy seemed to stare at me for a moment before sinking into the grass and vanishing into the night. At this point, my eyes now returned to normal. I blinked at what I had just said. I just told Mephiles I would kill him if he came close to Sonic or the others. I said _that_to _Mephiles_ the Dark, or all people! What had just happened to me?

"Shelby!"

"Sonic!" I cried in realization.

I had really zoned out there. I turned around to see Sonic and Tails come running.

"Shelby, what the heck just happened?" Sonic asked.

"I…don't know…"I said, staring at my own hands.

"Aunt Shelby, are you sure you're alright?" Tails asked.

"I…don't know anymore," I whispered. They didn't hear.

"Well, at least you're alright," Sonic said, "And Tails, I'm really sorry about the whole Fiona thing. I'm serious. I was a jerk to you even though I didn't to be. It doesn't mean that I wasn't. I'm truly sorry Tails."

"Oh yeah…I heard everything," Tails said, his ears now very limp.

I sighed before saying,

"Okay you guys, I'm really tired of you both getting things so upsetting. What is this, some kind of angst Fanfiction? I know for a fact that you're both better then this. Now please just makeup already."

They were silent for a minute before Sonic said,

"You're right, I guess we were just being a little…what's the word?"

"Stubborn?" I offered.

"Yeah, that's it!"

"Besides, I was tired of seeing you get your own tail handed to you on silver platter by Tails," I said before turning to the fox, "You're gotten real good at the butt kicking thing you know."

"Yeah, Knuckles taught me a few things a few days ago," Tails said, slamming his own knuckles together.

Something then hit me like a ton of bricks. If issues 174-179 all happened within 48 hours then how long would we have until the end of issue 179, where an even worse threat becomes known but more on that later. The whole time it took for the shock to sink in, Sonic and Tails were finally making up.

"There are still a bunch of things I wanna talk about but-"

I cut Tails off saying,

"Uh, hate to interrupt but aren't we needed somewhere? Like, oh I don't know, the castle and stopping Amadeus and his Majesty from killing each other!"

"GAH! I COMPLETELY FORGOT!" Sonic cried.

"Let's put this on hold for a while, we've gotta stop them before they hurt each other each other!" Tails said, taking to the air.

"C'mon!" Sonic said, scooping me up into his arms before taking off.

---

Needless to say, I was half expecting to see them sitting at a table, sipping tea like they had in the comic book when Sonic got there, the other half was expecting to see them still fighting. Safest bets if you had asked me. So when we charged at the door that would lead to the battlefield, I was nearly ready for anything.

CRASH!

"General Prower, you Majesty you gotta stop!"

Yep, they were locked in battle. They didn't even seem to hear Sonic's voice.

"Man, they won't even listen to me!" Sonic said.

"Well, if they won't listen to you, then maybe they'll listen to me!"

I looked to see Nicole and Sally enter the room. It was Sally who had spoken.

"If I may?" Nicole asked.

"Be my guest," I said with a gesture.

Nicole pointed her hand at the floor between the two fighting mobians and then lifted her hand. A wall rose with her hand. It took all the adults, including Sally's brother, by surprise. They then turned to us.

"Forgive me your Majesty I did not wake your parents. You said nothing about waking your sister however," Nicole said in a cute posture.

I smirked as Sally walked up to the two. All it takes to stop two angry men bent on killing each other was a single teenage girl. You'd never see something like that back home, at least where I'm from. I simply looked at Sonic as Sally suggested them to talk about the idea of a counsel. I guess that's why she was the leader of the Knothole Counsel when they still had it.

"So…are we ready to talk?" Sally asked.

---

It hadn't even been ten minutes before the general and the king were sitting at a small table sipping tea as they discussed the matters like grown ups. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the huge mood swing that had occurred. Instead of a highly tense battle with the clash of swords filling the room, all was calm and peaceful, where the only old loud noise was the friendly chatting. Nicole held the platter with the teapot, cups and such. Sonic had fallen asleep on the bed with Tails, and I couldn't blame them, after a fight like that, anyone would be worn down. Sally, the present queen, and I wear sitting on the foot of that very bed. Sally was simply complimenting her nephew, whom the queen was lulling back to sleep. That was went I noticed something.

"New 'do Sal'?" I asked.

Instead of the long, waving hair that she had, had when I first arrived, she now had her old hairdo.

"I see you noticed," the tomboy princess replied.

"Of course, I'd recognize that look anywhere," I said.

"Really, tell me, which look do you prefer?" she asked.

"I like both, but it's nice to know that you've got your priorities back on track."

"Yes, I'm pleased with it as well," Nicole agreed.

"I like it too," Sally said.

"Well now that the team's back to as normal as it'll get, maybe things will get better," I said.

'WHO AM I KIDDING?!' I screamed in my mind, 'ENERJAK WILL BACK SOON AND WHO KNOWS HOW LONG WE'VE GOT THIS TIME?!'

"Hopefully we won't get anymore surprises for a while," Sally said, turning to the sleeping hedgehog and fox.

'You'd be surprised, Princess,' I thought.

"As for you," Sally said, turning to me, "You should get some rest. You've had a long night."

I decided not to argue. She and her brother would probably team up on me, and believe me, when working together they were more relentless then one of Eggman's barrages. I yawned, stretched myself out, fell back on the bed, and closed my eyes. I fell asleep in almost an instant.

---

When I opened my eyes, I was under a tree with Sonic to my right and Sally on my left with Tails sitting in a branch just over my head. The morning had gone by super fast, and it was already noon. It had been decided that, for the first election for six of the seven members of the council, the citizens would write the names of whom they thought would be the best choice for the council. They had decided to act fast and it was very fast.

"Man, what a crazy day," Sonic yawned, "I'm still beat from last night's fight."

"Oi, you're not the one who was trying to stop you and Tails from killing each other, let alone take on Mephiles the Dark," I grumbled.

"I take it you're not a morning person," Sonic said.

"Right on the first guess," I said, "I can be a real grouch if I don't get my sleep but you're not much better when it comes to relaxing after a long mission."

"Touche."

"Excuse me."

My heart skipped several beats upon hearing that voice. My friend Nick and I always threw our voices slightly when we talked about the fan-stories we were writing, and he used this one for this specific character. It was next to completely robotic but with a hint of life into it. I snapped my head to look at the source of the voice. Sonic, Sally and Tails had done the same.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAA! WHAT IS THAT?!" Sonic was the one who had freaked out on me, and quite frankly, I didn't blame him. Would you freaked out the sight of a freaky floating robotic echidna head in a crystal ball? I bet you would!

"My name is Dimitri. You must direct me to my great-nephew Knuckles. Enerjak has returned," the first Grandmaster of the Dark Legion said.


	19. Enter Enerjak

**Chapter nineteen: Enter Enerjak**

To say that I was worried was the understatement of the millennium. I was _**FREAKING OUT**_! Enerjak, the biggest threat in the comic books was coming back and I knew that the only one who could turn him back to the way he was, was the one who wanted to _destroy_ him!

I had been pacing back and forth for nearly an hour, trying to find a way of putting together words that would make finding out who the new Enerjak was easier on Sonic and the others. When I first learned of the return, I had made a list of names and the one at the top was right, even though I dreaded the thought to no end. Julie-Su nearly started crying when we broke the news to her. Enerjak was connected to hers and Knuckles' family history, and was it one heck of a story.

The Chaotix weren't taking it any better either. They had witnessed the last time Enerjak showed his ugly mug and I don't blame them for getting so high strung. Vector, Espio, and Mighty had been tied down in the desert and left there to burn in the sun the last time he was around. They would have perished if Knuckles' extremely great-grandfather Eithair hadn't transporting Rad Red there…after saving him when he had been torn apart molecule by molecule. LITERALLY! With that less then pleasant image in your minds, you now can start to understand why everyone was so high strung. They were about as twitchy as I was, and I was unable to even sit down for ten seconds in worry. They made it to twenty seconds at the most.

"Shelby, you said the comics show a lot about us, do they say anything about Enerjak?" Su asked me after a while.

"Julie-Su even if I did tell you who the new Enerjak is, you wouldn't like it!" I had said in defense, "You'd have my head on a stake for even suggesting it!"

"I wouldn't mind if were Lien-Da," I heard her grumble.

Lien-Da: Julie-Su's evil stepsister. And I am not talking Cinderella evil stepsister either. I mean Kommissar of the Dark Legion and possible future Grandmaster. All she wants is for the power to control the Dark Legion, since after her brother was "lost" Dimitri took over, who was the first Enerjak!

Since I knew all of this, I, along with Dimitri, were to appear before the Council of Acorn and tell them everything we knew, which included who Enerjak was. Needless to say, I wasn't too happy about having to spill my guts about this whole topic, especially since I knew how it would end: Before all of this ended, someone would lose their life.

It was about five minutes before Dimitri and I were to appeal before the council and I was less then pleased to be there. Especially since I was in the same room as the madman who literally tore Knuckles to pieces and put his life on the line too many times to count. He was the one caused the entire Dark Legion to begin with…Then again, if he hadn't, the Master Emerald's guardians, The Brotherhood of Haven, would never have entered the world. To quote Agent Topaz from SonicX "Good really does come from bad sometimes."

_Sometimes_.

Keyword, right there. It doesn't mean you can go and absorb the power of eleven super sized Chaos Emeralds and claim yourself a god Dimitri did and now look at him over four hundred years later.

I had every thought in mind thinking about a way that I could break his robotic head open over something. It was mercy compared to what he really deserved. More like having every little part of him tore into teeny tiny pieces while conscious and fully aware of what was going on.

"I am fully aware that you are from another dimension," Dimitri said after a while.

"Not surprising, considering how powerful you once were. Over flowing with Chaos Energy, so much that you were, as you claimed it to be, as powerful as a god," I growled dangerously.

"I was…how do you know that?" he asked.

"Long story and I know that it would bore you considering how old you are."

I could feel him glaring at me hard.

"I also know what happened between you and Edmund those many years ago."

Edmund. That name may mean nothing to you at first but once you've learned a few facts, it'll hit you like a ton of bricks. For starters, he was Dimitri's brother but don't jump in and think that he was anything like the floating head that was in the room with me. While Dimitri was the start of the Dark Legion, Edmund was the start of the Brotherhood of Haven. In short, he was Knuckles' ancestor while Dimitri was Julie-Su's. Some crazy family huh?

But being serious, things weren't going to be easy once this started and I had some things I knew I could do, had to do and wanted to know. Not only did we have to stop Enerjak, we also had to get onto Angel Island, face the Destrutix, save Knuckles, keep Locke from using the weapon the Brotherhood made, rescue the other members of the Brotherhood that had been thrown into the Twilight Zone (another dimension, not that movie), find out where Scourge and Fiona were going with that super charged Warp Ring, keeping that crazy doctor Finitevus from escaping, and most importantly, find an alternative to breaking the hex Finitevus put on the Master Emerald. If things went the way they did in the comics, one person would end up dead, Finitevus would escape, and Knuckles would remain on Angel Island to guard the Master Emerald, leaving the fight against Eggman. Not a good thing.

My thoughts were interrupted when one of the giant double doors opened slightly. Sally poked her head out the door saying, "They're ready for you now."

Dimitri and I entered in total silence. If I had a wolf tail at the time, I would have been swishing it in annoyance. I wasn't exactly listening to King Elias as he told us to begin, because Nicole suddenly materialized in the room. She turned to Sally saying,

"It looks like Sonic has stalled him Sally."

"I knew he would. Keep me posted Nicole," Sally replied.

Eggman had been attacking just a few seconds ago, armed with a virus that would destroy Nicole. Thankfully, Sonic, who had been fighting him, brought up the fact that Enerjak was returning and giving the old doc a history lesson, seeing as how his only files on the guy were incomplete. We just lucked out.

"Shelby, I hope you will give us more detail on what Demitri tells us," King Acorn said.

"Of course your majesty," I said, bowing my head.

With King Acorn, there was Sir Charles to the king's right, followed by Hamlin, one of Sally's former students for training who was a pig, with Dylan at the very end, a porcupine and another of Sally's former students. To the left of Elias sat Rosemary, followed by Rotor, and Penelope Platypus.

Dimtri turned to me angrily, obviously not wanting to have someone, let alone a stranger, tell more then he was willing to tell them.

"I was Enerjak at one point myself. Understand that was ages ago, I was a brilliant chaos scientist," Dimitri began.

"And in your arrogance you tried to absorb the power of eleven large chaos emeralds," I then threw in.

"And I was transformed. I was no mere "person". I was a _god_," Dimitri continued.

'So says you,' I was tempted to say.

"As Enerjak, Dimitri thought himself unstoppable and would have conquered all of Mobius," I said in stead, "But his power was stolen from him. More then four hundred years of aging caught up with him in a matter of seconds. He would have died…"

"Until the Dark Legion rescued me with their cybernetic processes."

"But it wasn't a perfect solution and with his life still slipping away, Crome Dome here allowed Dr. Finitevus to play surgery in hopes of finding a way to return him to his former power."

"And he trusted him with his life?" Sally asked me.

"Try to understand princess. At that point, I was desperate!" Dimitri answered for me.

"You thought he was loyal like the rest of the D.L. but what you didn't know was that he wasn't even part of the family tree. How he had managed to sneak into the D.L. however remains to be seen," I spoke this time.

"So if you're not going to be Enerjak, who is?" Sir Charles asked the sorry excuse for a crystal ball.

"I thought that was why you had her come along," Dimitri said, nodding in my direction.

"That is question better left unanswered until you see it for yourself. If I told you, I'm not sure if you'd believe me or not," I answered.

Why's that?" Sally asked.

"Let's just say that if I told you, you'd think I was crazy," I replied, "But right now we have to prepare for Enerjak's arrival."

"Yes, I hadn't anticipated that the last bastion of "freedom" on Mobius would be so slow to act," Dimitri said in a cold voice.

"My first concern is my people. We're not going to rush to arms without a solid plan," Elias replied in a serious tone.

"As a field leader, I can tell you that the Freedom Fighters are ready and willing to go to Angel Island at a moment's notice," Sally said before taking a step forward.

"Precisely! Stop this madness before it begins!" Dimitri said in a now panicked tone.

"As much as I hate agreeing with the lunatic, I'm afraid he's right. If we don't take action at once, we'll be dealing with a world-threatening situation! Armageddon, the apocalypse, doomsday, take your pick because if we don't stop this, that's what we're gonna be facing!" I explained.

"But like King Elias said, we don't want you going without every advantage. We can only spread Nicole and her nanites so thin," Dylan replied, remaining somewhat calmly.

"Dylan, who says we need to be protected?" Sally asked him.

"Then send the Chaotix! They claim Angel Island as their home!" Dimitri now demanded.

"It's true that the Chaotix are free agents…" Elias paused.

"But…?"

"…They've risked their lives for my people. They're entitled to our protection as much as anybody else."

"So in short you're not gonna let them go unless your field commander recommends it are you?" I asked.

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Well here's a bit of advice: start building weapons that can absorb chaos energy. We only have so much time left."

"How much time, exactly?"

"I'd have to say…less then an hour."

The council looked at each other at this.

"Think you're up to it Rotor?" I offered.

The walrus simply smirked before saying,

"I'm already ahead of you. I have some weapons that'll absorb massive amounts of chaos energy in a matter of seconds."

"Then start making more. We'll need as many as possible if we're to survive something like this!" I said.

"Enerjak is practically a living Chaos Emerald! What makes you think puny weapons can do anything?" Dimitri said, getting a little too close to my face.

"Okay first of all, get out of my face," I said, pushing him away with one hand, "and second, it is very possible to deplete a chaos emerald of its energy. You should know that Dimitri. The emeralds you got your power from all turned to ashes when you were finished with 'em. But having something to absorb a bunch of chaos energy isn't just enough. If we absorb too much, it could cause irreversible damage to their physical and molecular structure. Our best option is to use those weapons if Enerjak comes to this city, and go to Angel Island and defeat our foe at the source."

"It's an interesting idea, but where did you get it from?" Sally asked.

"I got it from you," I answered with a smirk.

---

The meeting was over with not too long after that. The council would discuss the matter and then decide on what to do. We were dismissed and I wasn't planning on spending any more time with Demigod-in-a-jar so I was off to the airfield, ready for the next event: Chaotix trying to get a ride to Angel Island. I never had the chance to beat them there. I sort of ran into some trouble.

Literally.

"OOF!"

I had run straight into a bunch of black and white fur. It was one of two possible mobains that I knew of. A certain skunk and a certain cat.

Turns out it was both of them.

Geoffrey St. John and Hershey St. John sat on the ground, trying to stop their throbbing heads.

"S-Sorry guys, I didn't see you there!" I said in a slight panic.

"It's alright, we weren't looking either," Hershey said, picking something up.

It looked like some sort of crazy watergun but my gut told me otherwise. I carefully picked up one, only to find it much heavier then it looked. It weighed between twenty to thirty pounds at least.

"I take it these are the those chaos energy sucking weapons Rotor mention?" I asked.

"That's right love, and we've been running around all over the city getting these handed out," Geoffrey said.

"Look like some sort of toy to me," I said, placing the weapon in the skunk's hands.

"Well, there's been some movement in the woods outside the city, we're not exactly ready to take chances just yet," Hershey said.

"What kind of movements?" I asked, now brushing myself off.

"An overlander we think," Geoffrey answered, his voice was heavy with acid and venom.

"Oh, an overlander…" I mumbled.

That was right, I had forgotten to mention that I was originally human. It was probably for the best. Overlanders, the humans on Mobius, weren't exactly welcome in most mobian communities. The Great War and Robotnik being the main cause. If I told them the truth, they'd probably kick me out in a heartbeat. If Jules and/or Bernadette found out, I'd be dead for sure. It was during the Great War did Jules get roboticized. He, Bernadette and Charles were on a mission when they were sneak attacked.

Jules had been shot with some sort of laser to the side of his head, and fell from the ladder that he had been climbing, off the building the ladder was on, and onto another rooftop. Bernadette took care of the overlander how had attacked them while Charles went to his brother's side. They took him from the city and to find a place where they could get help. They met Amadeus and Rotor's dad in a sort of emergency transport system. They were off once they had Jules safely strapped down. Rotor's dad broke every speed limit they came across and everything in their path. After an hour they had finally made it to the hospital. Doctor Quack and his crew took over from there. Seven long hours later, Quack came out, saying that there was little hope. Charles then used the roboticizer and roboticized Jules. It was suppose to heal his wounds and replace them with machines. Problem was it worked too well. He turned into a complete machine.

After that entered my mind, I realized that I had to keep quiet about being human for have who knows what done to me. Geoffrey would be much worse, because his father died in a ship that the overlanders took down. I didn't really care much for my human self anyways. I wouldn't tell them. I couldn't tell them that I was once human.

Those thoughts were gone the second a certain blue blur raced past us. And he was headed…for…the…Airfield?

"Uh oh," I squeaked.

"Uh oh what?" Geoffrey asked in an annoyed tone. He was still very tense.

"Sorrygottago! BYE!" came from my lips in a rush before I raced for the airfield.

---

"YO! Doctor Creepy Von Evil! We've got an update for you!" Scourge called.

He and Fiona were just above Haven II and the Master Emerald's chamber on Angel Island. The evil hedgehog and traitor to the Freedom Fighters had important news for the white echidna, but Fiona had her doubts about him. As the beam of light came up from the ground she turned to her current boyfriend.

"Be careful around this guy Scourge," she warned, "He gives me the creeps…and I_know_ creepy."

"PSH! Fiona, he wears a cape and bandages. He can't be that bad!" Scourge replied.

The beam of light turned into a warp ring and out stepped said creepy echidna. There was no blaming Fiona for being uneasy around him, as I would later learn. That was probably the only thing we had in common: that guy giving us the creeps.

"I left implicit instructions that I was not to be disturbed at this point," the albino echidna growled dangerously in his throat.

"Right, right, Doc Fin, you also said to let you know about all the other clowns on this floating rock," Scourge replied, moving his sunglasses to his forehead.

"Very well. Report."

"All right, so General Kage Von Stryker has his whole dingo army on the move. It looks like he's ready to take out the last few echidnas the Deustructix have been protecting while you play "mad scientist"," Scourge said, pointing to the Warp Ring Fiona was holding up, showing the half mechanical dingo.

"Meanwhile, it looked like the Flame and Frost regions of the Dark Legion have caught on. They've stopped fighting each other and decided to attack before you finish…whatever you're doing down there," Fiona then added, turning the Warp Ring revealing two very angry echidnas.

"HMPH! Two armies are nothing compared to the power I'm about to unleash," the white echidna growled again, "Defend the echidnas…or don't. It doesn't matter as this point. I'm almost ready…"

With that said, Finitevus turned back to the warp rig and took his leave. Once the ring was gone and replaced by the beam of light, Fiona turned franticly to Scourge before saying,

"See? He redefines "creepy"," but much to her shock, the green hedgehog was laying in the grass, relaxing. "_**WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!**_"

"You heard the man…" Scourge replied in a relaxed tone, "We've got no standing orders. I'm going to chill out and enjoy the show."

---

I came skidding to a halt at the airfield. Sure enough, there were the Chaotix. They were beating the heck out of anyone who got in their way to get a flight out of the city. Sonic was currently standing on Vector's nose most likely trying to get them to chill.

"Guys…like I just got finished telling Robotnik…**WE JUST DON'T NEED THIS RIGHT NOW!**"

He then jumped from the crocodile's nose, which acted just like a diving board after he did that.

"I want to get into action as much as you guys, but even I can see we need a solid plan first!"

"And us fighting like this is only gonna Enerjak an edge that we can't afford to give up!" I cut in, "Now will you all please just CHILL OUT?!"

"Both of you stuff it!" Julie-Su yelled, attempting to kick Sonic, "Knuckles it out there and needs our help!"

"Yes but-" I never got to finish what I was saying.

"**AND NOW THE COUNCIL WANTS TO KEEP US TRAPPED HERE WHILE-**" Sonic jumped her chop, causing her to hit Mighty in the back instead, "**OW!**"

"GAH!" came from Mighty.

Julie-Su growled as she held her hand and turned to Sonic before saying,

"You talk about "unity", but nobody is free to do anything without your say-so. I thought we were your friends, not your pet mercenaries."

There was a moment of silence that followed.

"You got me there 'Su. I don't think it's a good idea, but I'm not going to fight you guys over it anymore," Sonic said.

"Very well put, Sonic," I said, stepping forward, "Now Julie-Su, I know you're upset about all of this, but I need you to listen: We need you and the Chaotix here to-"

"Keep us "safe"?! There will be no-where safe once Enerjak returns!" she snapped.

"I know that! I have the issue when he last showed his face!" I snapped back, "Now don't interrupt before I have my say, please."

No one spoke.

"Very well then. Enerjak will attack the most important places on Mobius, and New Mobotropolis is one of them! We need everyone we can get right here!"

"That doesn't help find Knuckles! For all we know, Enerjak has him already!" the pink echidna interjected.

"Nicole just sent a probe to Angel Island. We'll know what's going on very soon," Sally said, coming from what seemed like no-where.

"A NANITE POWERED CAMERA ISN'T GOING TO HELP!" Julie-Su then yelled.

"Which is why I'll be sending my best and brightest on a search-and-rescue mission," Sally then said, pointing at Sonic and Tails, who had just arrived.

"I like this plan!" Sonic said.

"But the Council of Acorn-"

"They voted and gave me clearance to command the Freedom Fighters," Sally then said.

"Was there ever any doubt?" I threw in.

"I'm sorry Sally. It's just…"

"You're worried?" I offered. "I may not have seen it for myself, but I have a good idea as to what you're getting at 'Su."

"And we understand better than you think. Now let's meet up with the others," Sally offered.

I could hold it in anymore. I let out a sigh. It wasn't exactly friendly. It's one of those sighs you give before you're about to break terrible news to someone.

"Don't bother," I sighed, "It's too late as it is."

All eyes fell on me.

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.

"I mean that Enerjak will be revived within the next minute, if not he already has been while we were fighting!" I said, "It's not going to be pretty either."

"Then tell us who Enerjak is!" Julie-Su demanded.

"I do that and I'll end up breaking your heart!" I snapped while stamping one foot.

They all looked at me even harder after I said that.

"What do you mean?" Julie-Su growled.

I let out another sigh only this one was out of disgust. I was going to hate myself for this one.

"Tell me, which echidna do you know who has the strongest link to Chaos Force?" I asked.

"Knuckles," Julie-Su replied.

"Well there ya go!" I said, "Knuckles was put under a spell and now he's let Dr. Finitevus turn him into Enerjak!"

They all now stared at me in disbelief. It wasn't just because of what I had said, but because of my eyes. I would later learn they had turned deep red after saying that. They were now blood stained rubies.

"Y-Y-You're lying!" Julie-Su said, pointing at me.

"I am not," I replied.

"B-B-But how?"

"Finitevus put a hex on the Master Emerald, so when Knux tapped into it's powers, he became Finitevus' personal puppet!" I snapped.

Julie-Su looked ready to cry. Her knees were growing weak. She slowly sank to the ground and started crying. I let out a sigh of pity, and my eyes turned back to their bluish-green.

"I'm sorry 'Su," I said, getting down next to her, "I'm sorry I had to put so harshly but you wouldn't have listened otherwise."

She didn't reply. She just fought against the tears. I sighed again and wrapped my arms around her. Then, without meaning to, I started singing to calm her down.

"Nad vecherim Dunaem raznositsya

Belyi tsvet, belyi tsvet, belyi tsvet.

I na pamyat' melodiya prositsya,

Proshlyh let, Proshlyh let, Proshlyh let…

No rasstayali ptich'imi stayami,

Nashi pesni prostye slova.

Ty uhodish' v ogon' Yugoslaviya

Bez menya! Bez menya! Bez menya!

Za notch' pod svintsovym gradom,

Za to chto menya net ryadom,

Ty prosti serra moya-

Yugoslaviya!

Za smert' pod dozhdem vesennim,

Za to chto ne stal spaseniem!

Ty prosti sestra moya-

Yugoslaviya!

Chernoglazoi devshonkoi rasteryannoi,

Ty stoish' na drugom beregu.

No dobrat'sya do etogo berega

Nemogu, nemogu, nemogu.

Nad vechernim Dunaem raznositsya

Belyi tsvet, belyi tsvet, belyi tsvet.

I na pamyat' melodiya prositsya,

Proshlyh let, Proshlyh let, Proshlyh let…

Za notch' pod svintsovym gradom,

Za to chto menya net ryandom,

Ty prosti sestra moya-

Yugoslaviya!

Za smert' pod dozhdem vesennim,

Za to chto ne stal spaseniem!

Ty prosti sestra moya-

Yguoslaviya!"

Having sung it in the langue I had only heard it in, I started singing it in English. As I sang, the pink echidna in my arms continued crying harder and harder.

"White flower floats on the evening of Danube

And the melody of the passing years requires the memory

But simple lyrics of our song faded away as flocks of birds

You leave in the fire, Yugoslavia!

Without me! Without me! Without me!

For the night in the rain of leads

For that I'm not by you

You, forgive me, my sister, Yugoslavia!

You stand on the other shore as a black-eyed girl at a loss

But I can never get to that shore.

A white flower floats on the evening of Danube

And the melody of the passing years requires the memory.

For the night in the rain of leads

For that I'm not by you

You, forgive me, my sister, Yugoslavia!

For the death in spring rain

For that I wasn't helpful to you

You, forgive me Yugoslavia!"

'Su finally stopped crying after I sang. Her eyes were red and puffy when she finally looked at me.

"Don't worry 'Su," I said, "'Enerjak' is on his way, and I know just how set him straight!"

"B-B-But you said-"

"I said not to bother going to Angel Island," I cut her off, "I didn't say it was impossible to save 'im!"

The tension in the air subsided as the mobains around me finally relaxed.

"Still, we need to prepare, both physically and mentally," I said, "Believe me, this won't end all too well."

"What do you mean?" Sally asked.

"…You'll see by midnight tonight," was all I said.

---

A great beam of light shot up from the ground.

"Here you go genius, you wanted a show," Fiona said at the sight.

"So shut up before I miss something!" Scourge snapped harshly.

Before either one could say anything else, the light grew even more harsh, forcing them to shield their eyes. They slowly lowered their arms, and then let them fall.

"S-S-Scourge?"

"Whoa…"

Floating right in front of them, pulsating with chaos energy, was Enerjak. A chill ran across the planet at the return of the evil echidna. The two mobains could only stare at what they had helped unleash. The same thing was running through their minds at that very moment.

_What have I done?_


End file.
